The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (5 Stars)

Please don't forget the apostrophe in the title after "Ladies". In the film Precious makes a big deal about it, and so should we.

This film is the pilot for the tv series with the same name, for which only six episodes have been made so far. It's based on the series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith about Precious Ramotswe, a young woman in Botswana, who decides to open her country's first woman-run detective agency for idealistic reasons. "I love my country Botswana, and I love Africa, and I want to do good with the time God has given me".

Unless you live in Africa the background to the stories will seem very foreign to you. Detective stories in an African village bear little resemblance to stories that take place in America or Europe. The first time I watched this film I was overwhelmed by the settings. It wasn't until the second viewing that I was able to appreciate the stories themselves. The film is growing on me. While not a comedy, the agency's secretary, Grace Makutsi, frequently makes dry comments that make me laugh aloud. "In history class we learned about a former time before computers, when typing was done on machines and the country was called Botswanaland and dinosaurs roamed the earth".

This is a heart-warming film. You will fall in love with the characters and cheer for Precious as she solves her cases. Rarely is a film so unique and so charming. After watching it you will want to see the tv series. In America the pilot film and the tv series have been released in a single box set. In the UK they have to be purchased separately.