大象传媒

"The men are going to get the message now!" cries one delighted woman whose life has been changed for the better by sisters-in-law Vera Ngassa and Beatrice Ntuba. These powerful females, state prosecutor and judge respectively in Kumba Town, Cameroon, fearlessly dispense justice in a West African country where patriarchal privilege has ruled the roost for centuries. The difference they make, recorded in this unfussy fly-on-the-wall documentary, is clear to see in the faces of all those who benefit from their good offices.

Given the huge piles of paper that line the walls of Ngassa's chaotic law office, it seems there is no shortage of grievances for her to tackle. Wisely, then, co-directors Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi focus on just three: a harrowing instance of child rape, an abused wife's quest for a divorce, and the plight of a young girl beaten with a coathanger by the aunt charged with her care.

"A MESSAGE OF HOME"

The latter's scars are a vivid symbol of how far these forward-thinking champions of human rights still have to go. By the same token, the beaming smile of the Muslim spouse whose stubborn refusal to bow to family pressure helps Ngassa achieve Cameroon's first conviction for spousal abuse in 17 years shows how much they have achieved already. Sisters in Law won't win any awards for its camerawork, sound or editing, all of which are perfunctory at best. Where it triumphs, though, is in sending a message of hope from a continent too often associated with tragedy and despair.