BFI

In the autobiographical film, The Body Beautiful (1990), director Ngozi Onwurah returns to the themes of body image and racial identity that she explored so eloquently in her first film Coffee Coloured Children (1988). Her mother Madge, who plays herself in the film, suffered breast cancer and underwent a radical mastectomy. As a child Ngozi and her brother did not recognise that their mother was any different from other women but when Ngozi begins modelling she has to confront not only other people's ideas of beauty but also her own prejudices.

As usual, the director approaches her theme with intensity and honesty that is only just held in check by a neutrally-delivered voice over. Unusually, the film also tells the story from the mother's perspective. This adds greater tension to the relationship as the mother cannot be what the daughter desires, nor can the youthful confidence of the daughter protect the mother from the unthinking cruelties of the world.

The Body Beautiful is a beautiful if uncomfortable film to watch. The images are seductive but the narrative, as in her other films, is often unbearably harsh.

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