“Blind Ambition” (M) ***

MANY movies and TV series have sailed under the flag of “Blind Ambition”. This one, directed by Australians Robert Coe and Warwick Ross, is, well, a bit different.

To begin with, it’s a doco. Docos can be difficult to make and eventually get mainline cinemas to screen. So what’s this one about?

Winning last year’s Tribeca Film Festival at its international premiere, it’s about a team of four Zimbabwean sommeliers competing at the World Wine Tasting Championships. Zimbabwean? Sommeliers? World Wine Tasting Championships? An unusual collection of themes, perhaps. Worth a look. 

With Zimbabwe’s economy collapsing and millions facing starvation, Joseph, Tinashe, Marlvin, and Pardon travelled to South Africa seeking a fresh start to support their families. They individually found waiting jobs in Cape Town restaurants, sparking their interest in wine. Not just drinking it and feeling intoxication’s euphoria but rather, the intricacies of the winemaking craft. 

In time, the four men, still unknown to each other, became sommeliers and head sommeliers, positions of importance and prestige. Eventually meeting and discovering their shared nationality, they decided to compete in the Tasting Championships – 24 teams tasting 12 unknown wines (six red, six white) and identifying five categories in each: variety, country, region, producer, and vintage. That’s no doddle; it takes real skill and experience. 

The film educates its viewers about wine tasting in a way that is entertaining and eye-opening and observes Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis and the four men’s journeys as they learn more about wine than merely the subjective competition between vignerons. Enjoy.

At Palace Electric and Dendy