The film follows an unemployed man living in a village near Dakar who receives a money order for 25,000 francs where he hopes to cash it in but he deals with the modern world where he has to have his identification and birth certificate as he doesn’t have any of those things. It is a film that is really a study of post-colonial modernism where a man who lives in a village with not much knowledge on the methods of the modern world as well as the fact that he’s illiterate. Ousmane Sembene’s screenplay that is based on his own novella is this exploration of a man who is dealing with the modern world as well as the world of bureaucracy as they demand some form of identification for proof. For its protagonist Ibrahima Dieng (Makuredia Guey), it is a revelation about how much he is disconnected from post-colonial society as he lives in a home with two wives in Mety (Yunus Ndiay) and Aram (Isseu Niang) as well as seven children.
He often has to borrow money from people including the local shopkeeper M’barka (Mustafa Ture) as news about the money he’s receiving have those wanting Dieng to pay them back including his sister (Therese Bas). Many around him hear that he has money coming as it becomes troubling where Dieng would even find himself giving money to a beggar only to see her again asking for money again as it play into this new world of greed. There is also his other nephew in the businessman M’baye Sarr (Farba Sar) who does help him a bit but he is also this presentation of someone who is in tune with the modern world while he lives in a posh area in Dakar.
Sembene’s direction is largely straightforward in its presentation as he does shoot the film largely on location in and around Dakar with the exception of one lone scene shot in Paris as it relates to Dieng’s nephew Abdou (Mussa Diuf). The scenes in the villages including the small home where Dieng and his family live showcase a world that is simple despite not having much food or water to use but they live decently despite Dieng being unemployed for four years. The usage of medium shots and close-ups add to the intimacy of how small the house is as well as a shop that M’barka runs where Sembene uses a lot of actual places for the film. The scenes in the city has Sembene use a lot of wide shots to get a scope of how big Dakar is how overwhelming it is for someone like Dieng who has lived largely in a small village and noticed how much the world has changed. Even as Sembene play into the way men treat their wives in those times and how the wives would try to protect the shortcomings of their husband only to make things more troubling. Sembene’s continuous approach to showcase Dieng’s struggle to just get his money from having to get a photograph and realize he had to wait a lot longer to the process of having his money order cleared as it requires many procedures showcase the many fallacies of bureaucracy.
Sembene’s direction also play into this air of post-colonialism that is prevalent in the modern world where begging is now a trade of sorts as it alienates Dieng who is a devout Muslim who often prays to God. Yet, there is this growing disassociation with faith in this modern world that Dieng is dealing with as he would turn to Sarr for a key scene in the second act where Sarr would write a check and get him some money as he would be a key figure for the third act. Notably as it play into Sarr’s own connections with the modern world and what he could do to cut through the bureaucratic tape yet this isn’t the old world. It’s a world that Dieng doesn’t recognize as it play into his own growing sense of doubt and place in the new world. Overall, Sembene crafts a riveting yet harrowing film about a man trying to cash a money order he received from his nephew.
Cinematographer Paul Soulignac does incredible work with the film’s colorful cinematography as its usage of vibrant colors for many of the daytime exteriors showcase some realism but also this air of modernism that shocks Dieng. Editors Gilou Kikoine and Max Saldinger do excellent work with the editing as it has bits of style in its jump-cuts and a transition wipe while much of it is straightforward. The sound work of Henri Moline is brilliant for capturing the natural aspects of sound on location while also cultivating the film soundtrack that mainly features a folk piece that play into Dieng’s plight.
The film’s superb ensemble cast include Ousmane Sembene as a bank worker who reads Abdou’s letter, Mussa Diuf as Dieng’s nephew Abdou who works in Paris as a street sweeper, Therese Bas as Dieng’s pushy sister, Serine Ndiay as an Imam who is asking about Dieng’s money, Mustafa Ture as the shopkeeper M’barka who often helps Dieng out thinking he would get his money back, and Farba Sar as Dieng’s posh nephew M’bay Sarr as a businessman who helps his uncle out but also with some motives of his own. Yunus Ndiay and Isseu Niang are fantastic in their respective roles as Dieng’s wives in Mety and Aram as two women who run the house and take care of the children as they deal with the demands from neighbors and others about the money but also the need to protect Dieng from those who want the money badly. Finally, there’s Makuredia Guey in an amazing performance as Ibrahima Dieng as an unemployed man who is given this money order for 25,000 francs as he hopes to cash it and take some of it for himself and his family but also do good with it only to deal with the many complications as it relates to the fact that he is completely disconnected from the modern world.
The 2021 Region 1/Region A DVD/Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection presents the film in a 1:66:1 aspect ratio with a new 4K digital restoration and an uncompressed mono soundtrack in its Blu-Ray release in its original Wolof and French languages with English subtitles that is translated by Sembene biographer Samba Gadjigo. The special features include a thirty-minute introduction by film scholar Aboubakar Sanogo who talks about many of the film’s themes as well as Sembene’s views on post-colonialism and its effect on the lower and working class. Sanogo talks about the decision for Sembene to shoot the film in color as a way to showcase this new presentation of post-colonial Senegal as well as continue this theme of people being neglected by a new system as it is this incredible piece that showcases the film and its themes.
The 19-minute conversation with author/screenwriter Boubacar Boris Diop and feminist activist Marie Angelique Savane have them talk about Sembene but also Dakar in the 1960s including the social imbalance that occurred during the early days of post-colonial Senegal. Diop and Savane talk about the film as a political statement about what was happening and how it was also inspired by events around the world in 1968 as the film was released in Senegal that November. It was well-received by audiences including students but it was a film that was not well-received by its government as the film told a lot of truths. Savane also go into the role that women played at that time as they had to serve the needs of their husbands though it was something Sembene didn’t believe in.
The 15-minute featurette entitled Praise Song that features outtakes from the 2015 documentary about Sembene with interviews from activist Angela Davis, musician Youssou N’Dour, filmmaker Clarence Delgado, California Newsreel director Cornelius Moore, scholar Manthia Diawara, actress/activist/journalist Fatoumata Coulibay, writer Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, and novelist Cheikh Hamidou Kane as they all talk about Sembene’s influence and impact on art, politics, and activism. Many of them talk about his novels and films but also the fact that he was also someone that wanted to use art to educate and talk about something that the world doesn’t want to talk about. Davis cites Mandabi as a key example as she talked about what Dieng went through as it relates to her mother having difficulty getting her passport.
The 26-minute 1970 short film Tauw is about a young man who spends much of his day trying to find work to appease his frustrated father as he deals with a pregnant girlfriend and lack of prospects. It’s a short film that plays into this young man’s plight as his little brother also is trying to work to get money for the family as they’re living in a shantytown with little to offer. It says a lot about the many issues about post-colonial Senegal and how the poor was unable to benefit from these changes as the film definitely does a lot in what it needs to be said despite the lack of a strong plot.
The DVD/Blu-Ray set also includes Sembene’s novella that film is based on as well as two other pieces of text in a separate booklet about the film. The first is an excerpt of a 1969 interview with Sembene from the journal L’Afrique litteraire et artistique where Sembene is interviewed by film critic Guy Hennebelle. The interview has Sembene talks about the film and its themes but also his idea of what he wants to do with his art. He also talks about the state of Senegal at that time as he talks about the problems the country was facing such as neocolonialism and the emergence of bourgeoisie amongst a certain population in Senegal and other parts of Africa.
The second piece of text is an essay entitled Mandabi: Paper Trail by film scholar Tiana Reid explores not just the film but also its themes and where Sembene was at in his career as both a novelist and as a filmmaker. It wasn’t just Sembene’s first color film but it was also his first to be told in the country’s native language of Wolof as Sembene felt that if he made a film about common people in their language as a way to reflect on their disconnect with the modern world. He could do something and help them during a moment in time when intellectuals and bourgeoisie Africans were running things to oppress those below their class system as well as take advantage of them as Reid’s essay says a lot about the film and Sembene.
Mandabi is a phenomenal film from Ousmane Sembene. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, a haunting music score, and its themes of alienation in a post-colonial and modernistic world. The film is a riveting yet harrowing look into the plight of a man who is given a money order but has trouble trying to cash it in due to a world that is completely foreign to him. In the end, Mandabi is a sensational film from Ousmane Sembene.
Ousmane Sembene Films: Black Girl - Emitai - (Xala) – Ceddo - (Camp de Thiaroye) – (Guelwaar) – (Faat Kine) – (Moolade)
© thevoid99 2022
Written and directed by Ousmane Sembene, Ceddo (The Outsiders) is the story of a group of commoners who kidnap a king’s princess following his decision to side with Muslims and have his people convert to Islam against their will. The film is a study of forced conversion and a group of people who are willing to defy the authority in the hopes to preserve their own traditions. Starring Tabata Ndiaye and Moustapha Yade. Ceddo is a riveting and evocative film from Ousmane Sembene.
The film revolves a conflict involving commoners who worship idols and carry on traditions that has happened for thousands of years while allowing a Christian pastor live nearby as they are dealing with a king’s new decision to convert his people into Islam. The result becomes troubling when a young man kidnaps the princess and holds her hostage escalating things further when attempts to rescue the princess falter as old tribe leaders ponder what to do while becoming angrier towards the imam (Omar Gueye) whose influence on the king has become troubling. Ousmane Sembene’s screenplay opens with a young kidnapper (Ismalia Diagne) and his aide taking Princess Dior (Tabata Ndiaye) as they hold her hostage while he scouts around for anyone to rescue her as he would kill those who attempt to with his bow and arrow. The script also play into what some will do to gain leverage as some trade people for weapons with others using bargaining and manipulation as some choose to go into exile with others either joining along or fight.
Sembene’s direction is full of dazzling imagery in terms of the simplicity he creates as well as the setting as it is set in a desert-like village with one scene set in a park during a funeral procession for the Christian pastor. While there are some wide shots to establish certain locations including this area where Princess Dior is living in a tent of sorts with her kidnapper nearby hiding. Sembene’s usage of medium shots and close-ups play more into the interaction and meeting between characters as it also play into this growing tension and civil unrest that is looming between the commoners and the Muslims. Even in the scenes that play into this imagery of idols that these commoners worship and the first meeting with the king (Matoura Dia), Prince Biram (Mamadou Dioume), the prince’s cousin, a warrior in Saxewar (Nar Modou), and a mediator in Madir Fatim Fall (Moustapha Yade) try to discuss what to do with the princess with the imam stirring the pot. Sembene showcases this massive meeting as it is the crux of an implosion that is coming with the king not really doing anything at all as it is clear he’s become a puppet for the imam.
Sembene also play into this air of frustration among the commoners and their leaders as one of them in Diogomay (Ousmane Camara) makes his own decision knowing what is to come as he doesn’t want part of it. Even as there’s people within the king’s council become frustrated as well as realize that things have become troubled since the imam’s arrival as he continues to spout his own ideas and manipulate those into his ways. The third act has Sembene not only play into the chaos that is happening but also the princess coming to terms with what is happening as the film’s ending is about what she would see to her people as they’re forced to take on new identities, new names, and a new way of life that is so foreign to them. Overall, Sembene crafts a compelling yet eerie film about a conflict between commoners and its king over the latter’s decision to have his people to convert to Islam against their will.
Cinematographer Georges Cristian does brilliant work for its colorful cinematography with the usage of low-key blue filters for one major sequence at night along with the vibrancy of colors in the daytime including the clothes that the people wear in the film. Editor Florence Eymon does excellent work with the editing as it largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the action and a few of the film’s surreal moments. The film’s music by Manu Dibango is incredible for its mixture of percussive-based music with marimbas and other percussions to play into the dramatic tension as well as bits of jazz and funk that are mixed in with some of the soundtrack music also featuring Christian and gospel hymns.
The film’s wonderful cast feature a cameo appearance from writer/director Ousmane Sembene as a commoner who has his name changed along with small roles from Ousmane Camara as the tribe leader Diogomay who makes his own decision about the king’s new demands, Nar Modou as a renowned warrior in Saxemar, Mamadou Dioume as Prince Biram, and Matoura Dia as the king who rarely says anything as it is suggested that he’s become a puppet for the imam. Moustapha Yade is fantastic as Madir Fatim Fall as a mediator between the commoners and the king as he becomes frustrated with the situation as his search for a solution becomes impossible.
Omar Gueye is excellent as the imam Jaraaf as this Islamic leader who is trying to instill his ideals and beliefs into people thinking it would be good for them yet has a motive for what he’s trying to do. Ismalia Diagne is superb as the kidnapper who takes the princess as he is trying to keep her at bay yet is also concerned for her as the rescue attempts intensify following some major news in the third act. Finally, there’s Tabata Ndiaye in an amazing performance as Princess Dior Yacine as a royal figure who becomes a pawn in this conflict as she eventually grows fond of her captor while becoming aware of what is happening questioning her father’s actions as well as the power of the imam.
Ceddo is a phenomenal film from Ousmane Sembene. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, themes of forced religious conversion against old traditions, and an incredible score by Manu Dibango. It’s a film that explores a king’s decision to change the ways of his people in an act of venturing into a world that his people are either reluctant to join or refuse to be a part of. In the end, Ceddo is a sensational film from Ousmane Sembene.
Ousmane Sembene Films: Black Girl - Mandabi – Emitai - (Xala) – (Camp de Thiaroye) – (Guelwaar) – (Faat Kine) – (Moolade)
© thevoid99 2020
Written and directed by Ousmane Sembene, Emitai is the story of a group of women in a village hide a crop of rice from the French government during World War II as it leads to a revolt between villagers and the government of the times. The film is a look into Senegal’s role in World War II as they find themselves troubled by the Vichy government in France at that time and its aftermath as it play into Senegal’s uneasy relationship with France. Starring Robert Fontaine, Michel Remaudeau, and Pierre Blanchard. Emitai is a riveting and mesmerizing film from Ousmane Sembene.
Set in 1940s Senegal under the rule of France, the film revolves around a conflict between villagers and French government troops over rice as the former feels that their rice crop is sacred while the latter feels that the villagers owe the government as a way to help with the war effort. It’s a film with a simple premise as it explore this air of resentment and ire from villagers who feel like they’re being used for other people’s agendas. While there isn’t much plot in Ousmane Sembene’s screenplay, it does establish this tension among villagers and French troops relating to an event at the beginning of the war where Senegalese troops capture young men and force them to serve the French army much to the dismay of their fathers and family. A year later, troops want rice from these villagers to help their troops as tax payment but the villagers refuse believing their rice is sacred as the women villagers hide the rice leading to a standoff between the villagers and troops.
Semebene’s direction is filled with gorgeous imagery and compositions with so much attention to detail in not just the setting but also in the tone of the film. Shot on location in Senegal with some of the film presented in language of Wolof that the villagers speak throughout the film. Semebene does infuse a lot of wide and medium shots to not just get a scope of the locations but also into the hardship that the villagers do in growing and harvesting their crop of rice as well as why it’s sacred to them. Semebene’s compositions and the way he would frame certain scenes add to this dramatic tension that occur including in how the soldiers and the French officers try to get the villagers to give up the rice for the cause. The villagers and the tribe elders are shown as people with an air of dignity with the elders/chiefs shown in medium shots as they discuss about what to do with one of them already having doubts about the gods they worship in relation to an event early in the film.
Sembene also play into this element of spirituality as the gods do appear as it only create more sense of doubt into what they can do while complications start to emerge within the troops as it relates to a change in leadership. Especially as things get more complicated with the French trying to instill their will and the villagers still refusing to give in believing that this war that their sons are being dragged into is a white man’s war and these young men will return with nothing other than being used as collateral. The film’s final moments is about this air of defiance and pride for the villagers including the women and children but also the fates of those who would defy them. Sembene makes some key decisions in what not to show as it is obvious what is going to happen but there is also this sense of guilt of what would come for the French as it becomes clear that their reasoning for these villagers refusing to give them rice as it play into the themes of colonialism and its fallacies. Overall, Sembene crafts an evocative and haunting film about a standoff between French troops and villagers during World War II over rice.
Cinematographers Georges Caristan and Michel Remaudeau do amazing work with the film’s cinematography as it captures the color of the clothes the villagers wear as well as the locations including the wetlands and rivers that they live in. Editor Gilbert Kikoine does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts to play into the appearance of the gods the elders worship as well as well as straight cuts to play into the dramatic tension. The sound work of El Hadj N’Bow is fantastic for the way ceremonial drums sound from afar or nearby as it help play into the tension as well as sounds of gunfire and spears being thrown. The film’s wonderful cast feature an ensemble of largely non-actors playing the roles of the villagers and the elders with Robert Fontaine as French commandant at their base in Senegal, Michel Remaudeau as a lieutenant telling the soldiers what to do and Pierre Blanchard as the colonel trying to reason with the villagers.
Emitai is a phenomenal film from Ousmane Sembene. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, and a harrowing study of the fallacies of colonialism during World War II. It’s a film that explore a moment in history that play into events where villagers find themselves being exploited for another country’s cause as they refuse to play a role in the war. In the end, Emitai is a sensational film from Ousmane Sembene.
Ousmane Sembene Films: Black Girl - Mandabi – (Xala) – Ceddo – (Camp de Thiaroye) – (Guelwaar) – (Faat Kine) – (Moolade)
© thevoid99 2020
Written and directed by Ousmane Sembene that is based on his own novella, La Noire de… (Black Girl) is the story of a woman from Senegal who travels to France where her work as a maid for a wealthy white family that becomes not what she thought it would be. The film is a study of alienation and repression from the eyes of a woman who arrives into a world that sees anyone from Africa as beneath them as she also copes with her identity. Starring M’Bissine Therese Diop, Anne-Marie Jelinek, Robert Fontaine, and Momar Nar Sene. La Noire de… is a ravishing yet eerie film from Ousmane Sembene.
The film follows a young woman from Senegal who meets a Frenchwoman in the city of Dakar where she is hired to be their maid and go to France hoping to make some good money and live a decent life. Instead, she finds herself having to serve the rich French couple and endure all kinds of verbal abuse from the Frenchwoman as it would become overwhelming as she thinks about her old life in Senegal. Ousmane Sembene’s screenplay has a back-and-forth narrative that follows the protagonist of Gomis Diouana (M’Bissine Therese Diop) who copes with her situation as she thinks about how she got hired and her old life in her home village near Dakar. Much of the film is told from Diouana’s perspective with a lot of voice-over narration (provided by Toto Bissainthe) where her job was to watch over the children of this couple but instead has to serve them where it’s very demanding. Especially as she’s never given much time to herself nor have the chance to explore her surroundings as she’s heard so many great things about France.
Sembene’s direction is intoxicating in capturing life in 1960s Senegal as well as the sense of alienation Diouana endures in the French seaside town of Antibes. Shot on location in Dakar and Antibes, Sembene would show two different worlds that would play into this conflict that Diouana would endure throughout the film. Sembene would use a lot of wide shots of the locations but much of his compositions are set in the close-ups and medium shots to play into Diouana’s sense of alienation and her surroundings. Notably in a scene where Diouana is serving guests of the French couple as Diouana is hearing what her employers are saying about her. There is also a key scene where Diouana gets a letter from her mother as the narration has Diouana believing that the letter is false as it just adds to this sense of repression as well as a mental sense of domination from the perspective of her employers.
Sembene’s direction has a looseness in the way Diouana’s life in Dakar is as she has a boyfriend (Momar Nar Sene) while being very playful and happy. Even as her job as a nanny of sorts in Dakar for the same couple where she watches the kids is actually filled with some joy. When Sembene is in Antibes, it has a different feel where Diouana is completely all by herself in a world that is dominated by white people who are rich and are often absorbed into their own bullshit. Even as a guest would want to kiss her against her will as it just adds to this sense of smugness from the people she’s serving as she knows what they’re talking about as it relates to African colonialism and how they view their contributions to Africa. It just play into Diouana’s own repression where Sembene would create a powerful conclusion followed by a return to Dakar that just shows how the world views Africa and their own ignorance about what they’re really doing. Overall, Sembene crafts a rapturous and haunting film about a young woman’s journey to France from Senegal and the oppression she would endure.
Cinematographer Christian Lacoste does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white cinematography as it play into the vibrancy of the exteriors in Dakar as well as the beauty of Antibes and the true attention to detail into how people look such as the locals in Dakar as well as Diouana’s own interaction with her employers. Editor Andrew Gaudier does amazing work with the editing as it is largely straightforward in its approach to the drama while it would have some jump-cuts to play into some of the looser elements in the film. The film’s soundtrack mainly feature an array of traditional African music as well as contemporary music from France to play into the different world that Diouana is in.
The film’s superb cast include some notable small roles from Raymond and Suzanne Lemery as a couple of guests of the French couple, Ibrahima Boy as a young boy with a mask, Nicole Donati and Bernard Delbard as a couple of guests at a dinner party, and Momar Nar Sene as Diouana’s boyfriend whom she meets when trying to find a job and deals with Europe’s influence in Senegal. Robert Fontaine and Anne-Marie Jelinek are excellent as the French couple who hire Diouana with Fontaine as the indifferent husband who would pick Diouana up on her arrival while Jelinek is the more aggressive and abusive madam who is so full of herself. Finally, there’s M’Bissine Therese Diop in a phenomenal performance as Gomis Diouana as a young woman from Senegal whose dream to go to France becomes a nightmare as she endures cruelty, indifference, and doubt where it’s a restrained yet evocative performance that plays into a woman dealing with a situation and make sense of what she’s enduring.
The 2017 Region 1/Region 2-disc DVD/1-disc Blu-Ray from the Criteron Collection presents the film in a new 4K digital film restoration by the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project with the aid of Cineteca di Bologna and with the blessing of Sembene’s son Alain. The film is presented in black-and-white with Dolby Digital mono (uncompressed in its Blu-Ray release) in French with new English subtitle translation. The DVD/Blu-Ray set features an abundance of special features that relates to the film as well as its creator Ousmane Sembene. In the first disc of the DVD, there’s the film’s trailer for its 2016 restoration edition as well as a twelve-and-a-half minute interview with actress M’Bissine Therese Diop conducted in 2016 as the actress talks about her experience working with Sembene as well as the themes on the film. She also revealed that many of the things seen in the film are actually true in the way Europeans treat Africans as she had seen it up close while she talked about her own experiences in the film including her collaboration with Sembene whom she knew was someone that had ideas of what he wanted to do while Robert Fontaine, who played her employer, was Diop’s acting coach that she knew for a while and was one of the few Europeans who opposed France’s rule on Africa. Diop also talked about her character and the ideas she brought to the film as it added to realistic elements of the film which was something a few of the politicians in Senegal at the time were not ready for.
The 22-minute interview with filmmaker/scholar Manthia Diawara about the film and Sembene has Diawara talk about the film’s importance in cinema as well as its place for African cinema. Diawara talks about the fact that the film is based on a true story that Sembene learned about when he was in France and turned it into a novella. Diawara talks about what was happening in Senegal at the time as the country had just become independent yet its president at the time was still doing deals with France that made some uneasy. Diawara also talks about the film’s unexpected success and its impact on African-American cinema and African cinema though there were some that hoped Sembene would stay in Senegal but the filmmaker refused to be pigeonholed in order to tell the stories he wanted to do which added more weight to his legend.
A one-minute alternate color sequence provided by the BFI in their own restoration of the film is really the driving scene in Antibes where it does have a beautiful look as it was a sequence shot originally in color before going into black-and-white for its final version. The two-minute excerpt of the March 1966 broadcast of the JT de 20h is an interview with Sembene who talks about the film as well as getting the Prix Jean Vigo which surprised him as he told the interview that he was about to leave until his landlady told him.
The second disc of the DVD features a 1994 one-hour documentary film entitled Sembene: The Making of African Cinema by Manthia Diawara and Ngugi wa Thiong’o. The film follows Sembene as he talks about his views on Africa and African cinema as well as the need for the continent and its countries to create its own identity after years of being colonized by other countries for so many years. Talking to various film students as well as filmmaker John Singleton, Sembene would also talk about some of the dark historical context of the country and its struggle for independence as a lot of films had to do with the search for an identity. Plus, he never uses professional actors while often telling stories about those who aren’t part of traditional society which has upset some of the African audiences from upper-middle class backgrounds. It’s a compelling documentary that showcases the films Sembene made up till 1994 as well as his views of what Africa could be and what they need to do to achieve that.
The 20-minute interview with scholar Samba Gadjigo has him talking about Sembene and his contribution to cinema. Notably as he was someone that lived in France where he was a member of the country’s communist party as he learned to read and write as he had been unable to as a child. He also learned about what was happening in Africa and why there hasn’t been any stories told about them. Despite the success of his films early in his career, Gadjigo revealed that there weren’t a lot of cinemas in Senegal and other countries in Africa as many of Sembene’s films were seen in Europe and in America. Gadjigo also talked about Sembene’s body of work as it revealed a lot of the stories he told and the common themes they had about oppression and the need to find one’s voice as many of films had been banned in Senegal, France, and other parts of Africa because of its political commentaries. Nevertheless, those who did work with Sembene in the 1960s would become filmmakers themselves and helped create a movement for African cinema and eventually have their films seen by Africans.
The 20 minute short film Borom sarret (The Wagoner) is Sembene’s debut film as it is about a day in the life of a cart driver where a man deals with his work as he tries to do his job. Yet, he would deal with customers who don’t pay him as he tries to continue to work as it would be trying as well as endure a sense of alienation in his surroundings where he drives a customer to the city. It’s a tremendous short film that explore the early years of Senegal’s independence and some of its drawbacks for those who live in rural areas as well as the sense of oppression they endure when they arrive in the city. The thirteen-minute interview with filmmaker/scholar Manthia Diawara on the short has him talking about the short film’s importance to African cinema as well as Sembene’s political commentary on what he wanted to say. Even as the short would have an impact on some of the later films he did as it relates to struggle of working-class Senegalese.
The DVD/Blu-ray set also include an essay from film critic Ashley Clark entitled Black Girl: Self Possessed. The essay doesn’t just talk about the film but also Sembene and how the film was made knowing that the novella he wrote wouldn’t be enough to reach the people in him country since many Senegalese at the time were illiterate. The film was released six years after the country had declared its independence from France but were still mired in the stench that was left from colonialism as it forced Sembene to make films about those that weren’t prospering from this new independence. Clark would also talk about many of the film’s themes of postcolonial prejudice and the sense of superiority Europeans had towards Africans which only added to their ignorance of what they did to them for so many years and their treatment of Diouana in the film. Its ending relates to the Europeans facing the sins they’ve created as it would haunt them from the people they’ve tried to rule over who will create something hopeful for their continent as it’s a must-read for anyone interested in African cinema.
Le Noire de… is a tremendous film from Ousmane Sembene. Featuring its great cast, gorgeous visuals, haunting music, and themes on identity and cruelty during the post-colonial period of Senegal in France. It’s a film that showcases a woman dealing with prejudice and superiority as she forces to face the reality of who she is and the need to reclaim it. In the end, Le Noire de… is a phenomenal film from Ousmane Sembene.
Ousmane Sembene: Mandabi – Emitai – (Xala) – Ceddo – (Camp de Thiaroye) – (Guelwaar) – (Faat Kine) – (Moolaade)
© thevoid99 2018
