Tiff 50 Laundry Review
“What we wash away says as much as what we keep.”
“Every load carries a story.”
Laundry is Zamo Mkhwanazi’s debut feature film. It premiered at TIFF 50.
Set in 1968 South Africa, Laundry follows Khuthala, the son of a man who runs a family
laundry in a whites-only area. Khuthala dreams of music while the business faces
increasing pressure from the apartheid system.
Mkhwanazi frames the film as an exploration of limits, threat, and survival. She wanted
audiences to feel the “constant limitations, the constant threats” Black people lived
under. She avoided making a plain history lesson.
The cast includes Khuthala, played by Ntobeko Sishi. Enoch, the father, is played by
Siyabonga Shibe. Other cast members include Zekhethelo Zondi, Tracy September, and
Bukamina Cebekhulu.
Laundry explores how a rare exemption under apartheid offers little absolute security.
Enoch’s permission to run a business in a whites-only area does not shield him or his
family from coercion or violence.
Khuthala feels trapped between duty and ambition. He doesn’t accept the limits placed
on his family. His desire to leave the laundry business causes tension at home and leads
him into forbidden relationships.
The film uses small family moments to contrast with systemic cruelty. Moments of
music, sibling play, and quiet meals contrast with police threats, arbitrary arrests, and
economic coercion. The film is an “unmitigated hopeless story of dreams dying,” but
credits the “authenticity in her storytelling.”
Laundry’s period detail grounds the world. The production used machines and props
from earlier eras to reduce modern anachronisms. The director noted the “laundry is a
key character” and that production design had to balance industrial scale with family
intimacy.
Sound plays an emotional role. When scenes are quiet, ambient noise (machines,
breathing, distant traffic) enters the frame. Music scenes offer tension relief.
Performances carry the weight. Sishi handles internal conflict; Shibe gives moral
gravity. Multiple critics name Tracy September’s Lilian as a character with agency.
Tension builds slowly. The film “Pressure Cooker” is in a mood of small threats
escalating into irreversible consequences. Emotional clarity. The film refuses
sentimental softness while allowing grief, love, and rage to emerge.
The pacing softens in the middle sections, according to several reviews. The film lingers
on domestic routines. The emotional stakes are uneven: some scenes feel overlong,
while others rush past key shifts. The film operates mainly in contrast: hope is fragile.
Some viewers may find the balance harsh.
If your interest lies in character-driven storytelling under oppression, Laundry will hold
your attention. Suppose you expect a plot full of forward leaps or frequent action, plan
for a patient watch. Focus on performances, spatial tension, and the interaction
between shared family space and political vulnerability.
“Love, loss, and the things we try to wash away.”
“Some memories never fade, no matter how many washes.”
