Welcome to Meet Me In The Lobby, where I talk about my Favorite of the Favorites that I watched from the month of February 2025!
Here are some of my favorite movies from the last month...
Mississippi Masala (1991)
Cecil B. Demented (2000)
Supa Modo (2018)
Ailey (2021)
Here are my ratings for these films: Letterboxd (Follow me and I will follow you back! 😁)
You can stream these films on Criterion Channel, Tubi, Kanopy, or Netflix!
So I watched Supa Modo a few nights ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I wasn’t expecting it to hit so hard. I just put it on, not knowing much about it, and it ended up being one of the most honest, beautiful, and tender movies I’ve seen in a long time.
It’s about Jo, a young girl living with a terminal illness in a small village in Kenya. That sounds like it’s going to be heavy and it is in some moments, but it’s also so full of warmth and love that it doesn’t feel weighed down. Jo wants to be a superhero. She loves movies, she’s got a big imagination, and instead of shutting that down, her whole community decides to help her live out her dream. They stage scenes, pretend to be villains, and make it all feel real for her. It’s done with this incredible gentleness that just kind of sneaks up on you emotionally.
One of the most powerful moments in the film is when Jo “stops a robbery” using her powers. It’s a completely staged event, set up by the villagers, and it sounds simple, but it hits so hard. The way everyone comes together, in full costume, committing to the bit for her sake, it’s just love in action. But what makes the scene even more moving is that Jo is in on it. She knows it isn’t real. She knows they’re pretending. And instead of being upset or calling it out, she plays along. Not because she believes the fantasy, but because she understands what it means to the people around her. She does it for her sister, who orchestrated so much of it, and for the villagers who want to see her smile. It’s such a selfless, quietly powerful act. That moment is pure magic.
There’s something about watching the world through a kid’s eyes that always gets me. They notice everything. They don’t sugarcoat the hard stuff, but they find joy where adults usually don’t. Jo knows what’s happening to her. She’s not in denial. But she still wants to live. And the people around her let her. They give her something to believe in, even just for a little while. I don’t know, it really got to me. It made me think about how we treat people when they’re sick or hurting, and how imagination, real unfiltered imagination, can actually be a form of care.
And the way this movie is so deeply rooted in place, in its language, its rhythms, the way the village moves and breathes, it’s just beautiful. It doesn’t explain itself. It doesn’t cater to a global audience. It just tells this specific, deeply human story and because of that, it feels even more universal. I’ve never been to a village in Kenya, but I’ve seen love like that before. I’ve felt that mix of joy and grief before. That’s the kind of storytelling that really matters.
Supa Modo is quiet. It’s not flashy. But it says a lot with very little. And honestly, it’s one of the most compassionate things I’ve watched in a long time. If you’re looking for something that’ll make you feel everything and maybe remind you to be a little softer with the people around you, this is it.
See you next time,
✌ Kelsey Faamausili
Letterboxd: @kelsey_mf
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