The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Ejiofor captures perfectly the heart of a town struggling to prosper, a family fighting to survive, and a young boy who just wants to keep the world as he knows it alive and well.

This is a promising debut from Ejiofor - and further proof of Netflix's willingness to invest in stories which other studios might deem less commercially viable.

Chronicling how an impoverished African family perseveres during hardship, The Boy speaks eloquently about the importance of education and the need for sons to surpass their fathers.

The film feels lived-in in a way that not many biopics do, forgoing both the gloss and poverty porn that often comes with Western films about Africa.

Not make this simply a portrait of victimhood, but a deeply informed and fully expressed portrait of a culture most of us (including this critic) knew little about.

It builds realism and context into both sides of that story and manages to be a winning adaptation as a result.

This is a feel-good film, yes, but it is also much more than that. There are painful moments along with the joyful ones.

A beautiful and at times heartbreaking slice of real life.

An emotional display of the power of human ingenuity and what people can accomplish in trying times, and it's Ejiofor's script that sets the film apart from other similar inspirational biopics.

The cultural specificity livens things up whenever it pops up, but it feels largely relegated to the first act, which is otherwise barren -- and sometimes a bit shallow.