An aspiring actor leaves his home in the countryside to try and make it big in Nairobi. You might expect it to be the familiar, heart warming rags-to-riches tale. But Nairobi Half Life, directed by David “Tosh” Gitonga is nothing like that.

It is a hard, brutal and ultimately stunning portrayal of the city’s criminal underworld, the other side of town that the Nairobi’s middle class likes to pretend doesn’t exist.

Played by Joseph Wairimu, Mwas is a naïve village boy who quickly learns why the city of opportunity is called “Nairobbery.”

A case of mistaken identity lands him a filthy night in the police cells, where Mwas strikes up a friendship with a small-time thug who shows him how to “hustle” in the big city by stealing car headlamps and side mirrors — something nearly every driver in Nairobi has experienced.

But unbeknownst to his crooked friends, Mwas has landed a part in a play on the other (richer) side of town, in which he is playing — surprise, surprise — the role of a robber.

The movie was written by Charles “Potash” Matathia and Samuel Munene, both who have been published by East Africa’s premier literary journal Kwani?, as well as Serah Mwihaki, an actress and script writer, who has been in the film industry for more than a decade.

Caine Prize-nominated managing editor of Kwani, Billy Kahora was the team’s writing supervisor, and his expertise shows: the dialogue is slick and authentic especially if you are familiar with the Gikuyu, Kiswahili and Sheng languages used in the script.

Some parts of the movie feel voyeuristic, like peeping at a friend going about their business; a testament to the writing and editing that made a film so true to life in Nairobi.

Writing the dialogue is no mean feat in an industry where many local productions are marred by clunky, wooden dialogue.

But it’s not just great dialogue and excellent cinematography that make Nairobi Half Life a brilliant film. It’s the way the movie illustrates the invisible lines that govern life in the city, the lines that keep everyone in their place.

Dividing line
In Nairobi, there is one great invisible line that divides the city into two. The line runs across the length of Tom Mboya Street in downtown Nairobi, everything east of the line is considered the seedier, dingier part of town, where people like Mwas and his gang operate.

But west of the street, on the “upper” side, people are dealing with issues, and it’s only luck, bravado and ingenuity that keep Mwas alive in both worlds.

Thankfully, the film is free of any preachy, moral-lesson tone — I was half-expecting the script to have a lecture on the haves and the have-nots.

That’s not to say that Nairobi’s inequality is not an issue: The city generates more than 60 per cent of Kenya’s GDP, yet more than half of its population lives in slums.

Nairobi Half Life makes a subtle yet effective commentary on the double life — or half life — that the city encapsulates.

It is about breaching social boundaries, and finding out that sometimes the system is too powerful to be overcome, and that the dream to make it big can be your worst nightmare.

If you are going to watch one film this year, let it be Nairobi Half Life — you will not be disappointed.