Tag: Mati Diop

Dahomey

Posted on by victorfraga

QUICK AND DIRTY: LIVE FROM BERLIN

In 2019, then 37-year-old French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop became the first black woman to show a film in Competition in Cannes and also the first one to win a prize at the world’s most prestigious festival: Atlantics snatched the Grand Prix (the event’s second highest award, after the Palme d’Or). The exquisite ghost story sees Africans uses the Atlantic Ocean in order to reach the much-coveted Eldorado known as Europe, and failing at their attempt. Mati Diop’s new film also sees Africans crossing the Ocean, however the context is very different. In the late 19th century, Africans were forcibly removed from their continent (more precisely from the Kingdom of Dahomey, in modern-day Benin), and taken to their colonisers in France, also via the Atlantic Ocean. Our main character is a wooden statue of King Gheza weighing approximately 220kg. It is known only as “26”, in a reference to the shipment number. The artifact was looted by French colonisers, alongside a further 7,000 items, which are now in France and other parts of the world.

A distorted voice speaking in the native tongue expresses King Gheza’s anguish as he is packed up and placed on a vessel. The screen is entirely blank, in a reference to the statue’s state of confinement inside a box. Our talkative wooden protagonist is concerned that he may not recognise his land, and that his people may no longer recognise him, after an absence of nearly 130 years. This is the poetically fictionalised element of what’s otherwise structured as a fly-on-the-wall type of documentary. Diop captures the actions of the French government, and the reactions and the reflections of the Beninese people from a respectable distance, and without providing any commentary. Instead, she allows the natives and the statue to tell their story.

The statue receives a warm welcome on its arrival, on November 9th 2021. Hordes of people dance and sing along the streets as the 26 items head towards a local museum. A group of young people (presumably university students) have a heated debate about the ethics of the unusual “repatriation”. Some argue that this is mere virtue signalling by French president Emmanuel Macron and the president of Benin Patrice Talon. The heads of state are trying to improve their image with an empty show-off gesture. They point out that 26 out of 7,000 is an almost negligible proportion, while also joking that at this speed they may return a further two to four stolen pieces in the next 100 years. A young woman s more optimistic, noting that this is a beginning, and that nobody could plunder their immaterial heritage (their dance, music, cuisine, etc). They also discuss the dangerous repercussions of colonialism, noting that their education system and their language are both French. “They made us slaves to ourselves”, someone sums it up. It is alleged that even the museum is a European concoction, and that perhaps the items should go back to their original site.

While not as artistically audacious an engaging as Atlantics, Dahomey is an interesting watch (at just 67 minutes). Despite its short duration, the story plods along in the first half, and it’s not until the fiery discussions begin that viewers become genuinely enraptured, The eeriness associated with Diop’s previous feature film surfaces in the final few minutes, when the Atlantic Ocean steps forward and becomes a fully-fledged film character, and hypnotic images are blended with an unearthly score. A welcome addition to the filmography of a young artist with a promising future ahead. Just not a masterpiece..

Dahomey just premiered in the Official Competition of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.

Atlantics (Atlantique)

Posted on by victorfraga

Ada (Mama Sané) and Souleiman (Ibrahima Traoré) are young and in love with each other. They walk along the beach and gaze into each other’s eyes. They hold hands and kiss. The next day Souleiman sets off on a primitive pirogue towards Spain, like many other refugees have done. Ada is left to contend with an arranged marriage to wealthy and arrogant Omar, whom she despises. After the ostentatious wedding ceremony, however, strange things begin to happen, such as the nuptial bed that suddenly catches on fire. The police suspect that Souleiman never left and is involved in the arson, and Ada is his accomplice.

This may sound like your traditional love story, but it isn’t. In reality, Atlantics is a an eerie ghost story imbued with religious, social and political commentary. Djinns (supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology) haunt the locals. The dead return in order to seek justice for their loves ones. Perhaps Soulemain died at sea and his ghost is playing tricks with the living?

The photography is nothing short of splendid. Shades of yellow and brown paint the screen at day time, while blue-hued tones populate the evening. A sad disco ball illuminates a group of lonely females. They are sullen because their men departed to Spain. The permanently misty weather and the raging Atlantic provide a mysterious backdrop, while screechy strings and synthesizers combined with local chanting offer the finish touch to the creepy atmosphere.

Ada is attempting to break away from old-fashioned traditions. She shuns her husband after receiving a text message from Soulemain. She’s convinced that her loved one has returned in order to be with her. She does not heed the advice of her parents, who beg her to settle with Omar. One of her friends expresses her desire to become Omar’s second wife. Ada is entirely indifferent. She does not wish to live in accordance to the Koran.

The story takes place somewhere on the coast of Senegal. A very large modern tower is being erected, in stark contrast to the impoverished districts elsewhere. The building workers haven’t been paid in three months. Perhaps some of them set off with Soulemain in search of a better life in Europe. The ubiquitous Atlantic represents a new opportunity, but it could become the final resting place for these poverty-stricken people.

While visually impressive and peculiar enough to keep you hooked for 104 minutes, Atlantique is also a little convoluted. It blends too many genre devices (sci-fi soundtrack, horror scares, romance ingredients and even a couple of noir artifices), and the script has quite a few loose ends. It could have done with less characters and twists. Still, not bad at all for a first-time director.

Atlantics premiered at the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival, when this piece was originally written. The director won the Festival’s Grand Prix, becoming the first ever black woman to do so. The film premieres in October in the UK as part of the Cambridge Film Festival. It’s out in cinemas on general release on Friday, November 29th.