Featuring electric performances from its two leads, Kahiu’s film is a vibrant tribute to the power of love and the strength of those who must fight to express it.

| Feb 12, 2024

What Rafiki has done and will continue to do to in the cinematic landscape of Queer cinema is something that cannot be watered down in any aspect.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 9, 2023

We get to experience what it's like for the Queer community in Kenya. Not being recognised, the stigma that follows and what it would do to young people trying to navigate their way of experiencing love.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Oct 9, 2023

Shot in beautiful settings with cinematography awash in bright colors, the movie is a stunning, gorgeous achievement for all involved.

| Nov 16, 2022

Perhaps the film’s greatest asset is its transcendent cast, who offer delicate, understated performances with such poise and elegance.

| May 19, 2022

Rafiki is fairly conventional in both narrative and structure, but by framing their romance within this normalcy there is definitely some sense in its depiction of same-sex love as ordinary, considering its home audience.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2021

Above all the movie is a celebration of the rebellion against the everyday, against what is expected, against becoming the "ordinary Kenyan girls" the main characters pledge never to be.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 30, 2021

[A] polished and colorful Kenyan drama...

| Oct 14, 2020

It thrives thanks to its wondrous cinematography, solid acting, and sense of optimism in the face of hatred.

| Sep 30, 2020

It's Rafiki's briskness that helps keep its heart beating, but it's its shallowness that prevents it from doing much else once the credits roll.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 25, 2020

A tale of acceptance, hope and young love, Rafiki is a beautiful, thought-provoking romance.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Mar 23, 2020

A touching and heartbreaking portrait of young love...

| Feb 13, 2020

Rafiki remains in the happy temperate zone of the acceptable... with the occasional interesting sparkle. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 60/100 | Dec 20, 2019

If slightly gauche in dramatic and technical execution, the game spirit of Rafiki really transmits. Also, there is some nuance; namely in the portrayal of Kena's parents.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 12, 2019

It's such a sweet natured and widely accessible story of love amidst adversity that the idea of any censorship board watching this and getting outraged is hilarious. It makes a film like Love, Simon look like Stranger by the Lake in comparison.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 10, 2019

I really like this film and I think [director] Wanuri Kahiu is definitely someone to watch.

| Sep 28, 2019

Rafiki is a gorgeously haunting film that is equal parts heart-breaking and hopeful... It's vibrant and full of life. It's simple yet bold.

| Aug 22, 2019

It proves to be one of the rare films of its ilk that post-scripts realistic atrocities with a promise of a life fully lived, even after the trauma.

| Aug 7, 2019

Even if it weren't a landmark LGBT film, it would still be worth seeing just for its African story unfiltered by a Western sensibility.

| Aug 2, 2019

The main interest here comes from the milieu and cultural background that supports the story.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 30, 2019