Motema [Heart]
A Summary
Logline: When Luke trades his glamorous life as a private pilot for one flying relief missions in the Congo, he discovers surprising commonality there and is tasked by an ambitious woman with securing a better life for her young daughter in America.
In 2005, Luke (mid 40s) is living a comfortable life as a private pilot for a self-made millionaire when circumstances change for his employer and Luke is left to consider his path forward. Recalling the challenge of his high school Jesuit teacher, Luke decides to take a year off and “give back” by volunteering to fly relief missions overseas. He is sent first to the Democratic Republic of Congo to train and receive certification to fly into war-torn Afghanistan, his ultimate destination, but ends up finding a common humanity in the people of the Congo and has quite the adventure in his six months there. “Motema”, which means “heart” in the native Lingala dialect, is the true story of Luke’s time in the Congo and the results of his accepting the challenge of his youth.
Barely a week into his residency in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Congo, Luke is grounded by what appears to be German measles and is confined to his quarters until the nature of his illness can be determined. While under this quarantine, Luke keeps fit by working out on a stationary bike atop the roof of his compound which draws stares and laughter from the neighborhood children who find it odd the white man pedals hard but fails to go anywhere. He befriends Nicole, a young neighbor, and enlists her help in delivering him fresh produce and baguettes each morning from the stand next door. When his affliction is cleared as nothing more than a rash, Luke comes to know the children of the neighborhood and uses his passion for running to bond with them by organizing street races and rewarding the winners with Cokes, rare treats among the impoverished youths.
Madame TeeTee lives next door and runs the produce stand to supplement her income as the recorder of live births for the government. She is largely responsible for the nine occupants of the unfinished building they call “home”. Her cousin, Sebastian, is charged with caring for orphan Nicole, but his wife, DeeDee, sees the child as one more mouth to feed on little or no money, and takes to beating Nicole whenever problems arise in the household. One day, DeeDee chooses to abandon Nicole to the streets, an all-too-common practice in Kinshasa which has a large population of homeless children. Luke and TeeTee locate the child and send her to an uncle in a faraway village to be raised in safety.
Luke quickly adapts to the life of a bush pilot and takes joy in routinely forcing his fellow pilots to go on great adventures outside their comfort zone, from white water rafting to jungle safaris in search of silverback gorillas.
While out jogging the streets of Kinshasa, Luke stops to take pictures of an abandoned hospital and draws the wrath of a local Mafioso type who fears his illegal operations will now come to the attention of the U.S. government. Luke narrowly escapes, but from that point on, he lives his life cautiously, always on the lookout for the evil “Kananga”.
Education is very important to Madame TeeTee and is her foremost wish for her daughter, Olga. Determined that Olga will rise above the poverty and oppression that is modern day Congo, TeeTee implores Luke to take the child with him on his return to the U.S., even if it means adoption. She is relentless in her determination, and the more Luke comes to know this family, the more he wants to help. When he eventually leaves for Afghanistan, Luke vows to help TeeTee in her quest upon his return to the states.
Two years later, when an offer of adoption comes from a gay couple, Madam TeeTee wrestles with her faith as she tries to find the courage to follow through on her commitment to Olga.