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Showing posts with label Ivory Coast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ivory Coast. Show all posts

Sunday, April 08, 2012

2012 African Cup of Nations Film Spotlight

The conclusion of the 2012 African Cup of Nations film spotlight. In the end, I was only able to view films from 10 of the 16 African nations that took part in the 2012 tournament.

Group A: 2 films

Libya: The Message (1977, Moustapha Akkad)

A lavish production that balances the story and teachings of Prophet Mohammed along with the political struggle that took place in the name of religion. The prophet cannot be shown in front of the camera and that limitation does not take anything away from the film as characters address the camera and repeat the words they have heard from the Prophet, thereby continuing their dialogue with him. Also, there are some incredible scenes such as the moment when the first call to prayer is announced while the battle scenes leave no stone unturned in terms of production values. The film has a consistent feel which is remarkable given how the production had plenty of troubles eventually resulting in Libya offering to allow filming to be completed.

Senegal: Madame Brouette (2002, Moussa Sene Absa)

A drunk man in a red dress walks into a home where a young girl and woman live. A few words are exchanged, a shot is fired, and the man stumbles out of the home and drops dead. A crowd gathers, a tv crew arrives and debates begin about what really happened. The rest of the film uncovers the events that led to that killing. A few soulful musical numbers are smartly integrated in the film and give some background to a character’s plight or feelings. Also, the music manages to lighten the overall mood of the film because the story depicts harsh realities of society, including corruption. The opening number (shown in the trailer), repeated at various intervals throughout the film, is memorable and appropriate in the film’s context.



Group B: 3 films

Angola: The Hero (2004, Zézé Gamboa)

Vitoria (Makena Diop), a war veteran, anxiously waits at the hospital everyday hoping to finally get a prosthetic leg. Even though he is a decorated war hero, he struggles to find a job so he believes a prosthetic leg will finally help him rejoin the workforce. Unfortunately, his prosthetic is stolen shortly after he receives it and he has no chance to get a replacement. A few people try to help him recover his prosthetic leg including a local politician who misuses Vitoria’s situation to garner some votes.

The film is set in Angola but the issues related to the ignorance of war veterans apply to many nations where politicians are distant from the human cost of war. In such nations, politicians don’t think twice about sending their nation’s civilians to war but then are quick to turn a blind eye when these same soldiers return from war. Vitoria wears his uniform with pride but his uniform wears him down and ends up becoming a burden on him because he finds that his service to his nation means nothing to those around him. So it is not a coincidence that Vitoria is shown to be happy when he is not in his uniform. The absence of his uniform indicates that he has rejoined civilian life and his burden has been removed.

The name Vitoria is similar to that of Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) and that similarity is justified as Vitoria’s prosthetic leg is his ticket to employment like a bicycle is critical to a job in Bicycle Thieves.

Burkina Faso: Dreams of Dust (2006, Laurent Salgues)

Mocktar (Makena Diop) arrives in Essakane looking to work in a gold mine but he is told by a local that he has arrived almost two decades late as the gold has dried up. Still, the workers continue to work in the mine under the desert hoping to strike it rich. Mocktar hopes to put his past behind him in his new surroundings but he finds that the locals in Essakane are haunted by the past. Laurent Salgues manages to depict the state of the workers nicely by smartly mixing enough silent moments with appropriate expressions.

There is a moment in the film when a gold mine caves in, leaving the workers trapped underneath. Even though the camera never ventures into the mine, the accident has echoes of Yash Chopra’s excellent Kaala Patthar (1979).

As an aside, it is remarkable that two films in this group feature Makena Diop in the lead. In both films, he perfectly depicts the right emotion required for his character.

Ivory Coast: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M'Bala)
Adanggaman Ossei

Ossei (Ziable Honoré Goore Bi) is reluctant to marry as per his father’s wishes so leaves at night to go see his lover. While he is away, his village is attacked and everyone is taken as a slave, including his mother. Ossie manages to run away but decides to give himself up in order to save his mother. The story is based on true incidents related to slavery in 17th century when some African tribes captured other tribes and sold their prisoners as slaves overseas. The slaves that were kept alive and given enough food were ones that the captors felt could survive the long journey across the ocean. The brutal acts around slavery result in some powerful dialogues in the film such as

"The Whip will reign for a long time."
"Death lurks around us"
"Despair will shroud them, plunging them in horror."

Group C: 2 films

Morocco: Le Grand Voyage (2004, Ismaël Ferroukhi)

A father wants to make the pilgrimage to Mecca so he asks his son to drive all the way from France to Saudi Arabia. The son is initially not happy with his father’s decision but gradually gains a better understanding of his father as the journey progresses. The film manages to stand out from a traditional road feature by incorporating some engaging elements, such as the mysterious Eastern European woman the duo pick up. The woman’s mysterious disappearance and reappearance fits in perfectly as does the predictable actions of the Turkish man the son befriends. The journey ends up becoming a metaphor for life and each experience helps broaden the son’s mind. The end point of the journey at Mecca features the film’s strongest & most emotional moment.

Tunisia: Khorma (2002, Jilani Saadi)

Khorma (Mohamed Graïaa) is an easy going and friendly person but others around him often misunderstand him and look upon him suspiciously. In fact, others are just waiting for Khorma to slip up so that they can throw him into the fire. When circumstances result in Khorma making a mistake, the town waste no time in crucifying him. Yet, despite everything that happens to Khorma, he manages to shrug it off and dance freely.

Group D: 3 films

Botswana: The Gods Must be Crazy II (1989, Jamie Uys)

Growing up, I thought the concept of The Gods Must be Crazy was quite funny but unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the same formula in the sequel. This formula features multiple stories spliced together with an unseen narrator describing the actions of the local tribe. There is a cartoonish element to The Gods Must be Crazy II, highlighted by sped up frames, but the overall story is a weaker rehash of the first film.

Ghana: Life and Living It (2008, Shirley Frimpong Manso)

Shirley Frimpong Manso’s The Perfect Picture starts off with a marriage and looks at the quest of three friends to find a meaningful relationship in their lives. In Life and Living it, Manso explores at issues that come after marriage, such as affairs, conflicts, divorce and custody battle over a child.

Mali: Den Muso (1975, Souleymane Cissé)

Sekou, a young factory worker, wants to leave his job because after 5 years, he feels he has not made enough money. Even though his boss asks him to be patient, Sekou refuses to listen. Sekou turns out to be a womanizer and rapes Ténin, the boss’ daughter, and gets her pregnant. Ténin’s father disowns her because of the pregnancy as he believes she has brought shame to the family.

Den Muso (The Young Girl) is Souleymane Cissé’s first feature film and starts off with a thoughtful black and white sequence which shows men working hard at a construction site. The opening sequence contrasts with the rest of the film because Sekou wants to progress in his job but refuses to put in the hard work required. In this regard, Cissé depicts some aspects of a younger generation that demands things instantly without putting in the required effort. Also, the film sheds a light on treatment of women in society by its depiction of Ténin.

Top 4 films

None of the 10 films ran away with the spotlight but a few films had some worthy moments. In the end, the following is the final preference order:

1) Burkina Faso, Dreams of Dust (2006, Laurent Salgues)
2) Senegal, Madame Brouette (2002, Moussa Sene Absa)
3) Morocco, Le Grand Voyage (2004, Ismaël Ferroukhi)
4) Angola, The Hero (2004, Zézé Gamboa)

There was no overlap with the final 4 of the soccer tournament:

1) Zambia: Their remarkable 8-7 penalty shoot-out win over Ivory Coast was emotional given that the victory took place in the same city where members of the 1993 Zambian team were killed in an airplane crash.

2) Ivory Coast: They ended the tournament without conceding a single goal as the final ended 0-0. They won all their previous 5 games by a score of 1-0 (vs Sudan), 2-0 (vs Burkina Faso), 2-0 (vs Angola), 3-0 (vs Equatorial Guinea) and 1-0 (vs Mali).

3) Mali

4) Ghana

Monday, January 23, 2012

African Film Spotlight, CAN 2012


In the past, I had to postpone an African Cup of Nations (CAN) Film spotlight due to the difficulty in tracking down an adequate number of films from the nations taking part in the tournament. That difficulty still exists and in a way, the 2012 tournament is more challenging than previous editions because of the high profile absences of Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa and Algeria. Much has been written about the footballing ramifications of the absence of these five countries especially since Egypt won the last three tournaments, Nigeria and Cameroon have been major forces in the region for the last two decades while Algeria took part in the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa. However, their absence is more serious from a cinematic point of view because Egypt and Nigeria are the two most prolific film producing African nations while in recent years South Africa and Algeria have contributed a good dose of worthy films. Thankfully, Mali and Senegal are present in this year’s tournament as they are a reliable source of films and it is also relatively easy to find films from Morocco and Tunisia. I decided to go ahead with a CAN spotlight because I was able to find atleast two films from each group.

Selection Criteria & Rules

This spotlight has the least amount of rules because of the hurdles involved in finding enough representative films. The selections can be from any decade and co-productions are essential requirements. There will be no head-to-head judging of films but I will write about the selections and then pick my three favourite entries at the end of the spotlight. Backup films will only be allowed in case I cannot find the entries below.

Group A

Equatorial Guinea: None
Libya: The Message (1977, Moustapha Akkad)
Senegal: Madame Brouette (2002, Moussa Sene Absa)
Zambia: None

Unfortunately, the co-hosts Equatorial Guinea are not known for their film industry although a documentary about the nation’s oil industry does exist.

Group B

Angola: The Hero (2004, Zézé Gamboa)
Burkina Faso: Dreams of Dust (2006, Laurent Salgues)
Ivory Coast: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M'Bala)
Sudan: None

Ivory Coast are the soccer powerhouses in Group B and it would be a major shock if they didn’t win their group. However, in cinematic terms, Ivory Coast will have their hands full with the two other group entries.

There are a few foreign made documentaries about Sudan but no adequate direct or co-production entry could be found.

Group C

Gabon: Dôlè (2000, Imunga Ivanga)
Morocco: Le Grand Voyage (2004, Ismaël Ferroukhi)
Niger: Le Medicin De Gafire (1985, Mustapha Diop)
Tunisia: Khorma (2002, Jilani Saadi)

There is potential to see films from all four nations.

Group D

Botswana: The Gods Must be Crazy II (1989, Jamie Uys)
Ghana: Life and Living It (2008, Shirley Frimpong Manso)
Guinea: Dakan (1997, Mohamed Camara)
Mali: Den Muso (1975, Souleymane Cissé)

Like Group C, all 4 films might be present.


The football tournament ends on February 12 but this spotlight will be allowed to run until March.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

2010 Movie World Cup, Group G

Group G -- Brazil, Ivory Coast, North Korea, Portugal

Films: Almost Brothers, Adanggaman, North Korea: A Day in the Life, Colossal Youth


Brazil: Almost Brothers (2004, Lúcia Murat)

The film has an interesting setup in linking the Brazilian military junta's political imprisonments in the 1970's to a modern day depiction of favela gangs. The story starts off in the 1950's when two men from vastly different social backgrounds are brought together by their common love for music. Two decades later, their sons find themselves as cell mates during the military junta's crackdown. The two develop a frienship in the prison but find themselves on opposite sides after an experiment to treat all inmates as equals fails leading to a prison divided on racial grounds. And another few decades later, the two friends find themselves on opposing sides again, with Miguel a politician seeking to improve slum life and Jorginho stuck in prison yet running a slum gang remotely via phone. To complicate matters, Miguel's daugther is involved with a gang member who works for Jorginho.

There are some engaging prison sequences in the film and some interesting moments involving a friendship continously put to the test due to racial, social and political divisions but overall, it is a disappointing effort given the previously thorough depiction of Favela/gang life on film. The presentation of the story across decades with constant cuts disrupts any flow the film builds and weakens both the present and past portrayals.

Ivory Coast: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M'Bala)

Adanggaman blends fact and fiction in its depiction of slavery from an African perspective in the 1600s. The film starts off with Ossei's clash with his parents over his refusal to marry as per tradition and their wishes. But after an attack on his village, Ossei finds himself on the run and is eventually captured to be sold as a slave.

North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004, Pieter Fleury)

A lot of credit must be given to Pieter Fleury for making an accurate film depicting state of things inside North Korea despite working under the watchful eye of the North Korean government. The government chose the family that Fleury could interview and probably limited where his camera could go. Still, despite being confined in a rigid framework, Fleury has emerged with a film that confirms what one reads about North Korea and its controlled environment.

The chosen family, from grandfather to the young granddaughter, utter anti-US messages every chance they get, thereby pleasing the North Korean officials who probably reviewed the footage. Besides filming inside the family home, Fleury also films in a factory, an office, a local school, an English language learning class and all these sites confirm people are working/talking under a watchful eye. The family and the office workers words don't ever seem genuine and thereby serve as evidence of the staged nature of the interview. In the factory, Fleury's camera is able to give a truthful view of the working conditions that exist. The employees have daily targets to meet and even if there is a power shortage (which are frequent and almost daily), it is up to the employees to work harder and faster to make up for the lost time.  Fleury is also able to capture a discussion among a group of school teachers about whether the lessons and stories they teach in school will accurately emphasize their great leader's generosity.  It is amazing to think that tiny footage could have escaped the North Korean censors as it clearly shows that only things related to the great leader are to be taught in the classroom.   There are also radio annoucements included in the film which convey the daily propaganda fed to the people about the great cause of their nation and beliefs.  And the film ends by giving us a good look at the great leader, naturally.

The film won a special Award for Best Documentary at Pyongyang Film Festival in 2004, so obviously the North Korean powers were pleased by the image the film presents. It is remarkable that the film manages to depict exactly what the government would have wanted to stop anyway. There are subtle things that maybe the government didn't pick up such as the office workers body language giving away the artificial nature of the interview.  The documentary comes off as a comedy in its observation of people's routines but ofcourse it is no laughing matter considering that these people have to spend each day under the watchful eye of the great leader and his followers.  Orwell's fictional 1984 is still a reality.

Portugal: Colossal Youth (2006, Pedro Costa)

Colossal Youth is a living breathing painting that lets us observe its beauty and allows us to listen in to the sounds flowing within the canvas.

The mesmerizing opening shot is an indication of the beauty that lies ahead.
The film completes the Fontainhas trilogy and picks up after most of the residents from In Vanda's Room have been relocated to pristine lifeless clean apartment complexes.

Vanda is back as well, along with her cough, but this time around it is Ventura who is the camera's main focal point. Here he goes looking for Vanda.
Ventura has to select his apartment but he is taking his time and is in no hurry. The clean walls of the apartment hold no joy for Ventura as his heart is torn in between Fontainhas and his dream Lava House in Cape Verde.
Fontainhas provides Ventura an opportunity to do most of his thinking from his red throne where he can view the disappearing neighbourhood.
And there is just one scene where Costa's camera gives a glimpse of life that exists beyond the two worlds of Fontainhas and the apartment complex. This scene shows lights glittering in the distance and is the first indication of a city's existence in both Colossal Youth and In Vanda's Room.
Otherwise, Costa's camera is only focused on the relevant details, be it alleys, walls or faces.

And finally, the music and words of the infectious liberation song that Ventura plays on the record player stay long in the mind even after all the credits have taken leave.

Standings and Points (Maximum out of 9)

Colossal Youth: 9
North Korea: A Day in the Life: 7
Almost Brothers: 6
Adanggaman: 5

The big surprize has to be the North Korean elimination of Brazil who were the defending movie world cup champions from 2006. Since the Brazilian film In the Middle of the World had won my 2006 movie world cup, I had put some pressure on myself to ensure I got a good Brazilian film for a worthy title defense. After I failed to get my first pick of Garapa (José Padilha), I had little to choose between my 2nd pick of Margarette's Feast and 3rd pick Almost Brothers. In the end, I went with Almost Brothers by default because my 2nd pick was not readily available. Yet, I am sure I could have made a better selection than Almost Brothers.

Technically the North Korean entry is a Dutch film made by a dutch director. However, it is set entirely in North Korea and the work got the approval of the government so I see no problem in using it to represent North Korea in this movie world cup.

Soccer Group Prediction

This group was initially labeled as a Group of Death because of the stellar players on display for Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. But this group does appear to be light weight with Brazil clear favourites to take top spot and advance along with Portugal in 2nd place.

Brazil might not play with too much flair and score many goals but they will get their 3 wins. Drogba's possible absence will be felt dearly by Ivory Coast who need his experience to muscle in some goals. Plus, it is hard to see what Sven-Göran Eriksson can accomplish with the limited time he has had with Ivory Coast. If Portugal's golden generation of Luis Figo and Rui Costa could not win anything for the national team, then it is hard to see the current squad do much at the world cup. Ronaldo will be busy doing his step-overs but they will amount to nothing. It will be interesting to see if Portugal can get rid of their diving and play acting. North Korea are an unknown entity but are unlikely to repeat the shock result of 1966 when they beat Italy 1-0.

Brazil, Portugal and North Korea are also tied historically to the 1966 World Cup. In 1966, Portugal were in the same group as Brazil and the two took part in an ugly game when the Portuguese players kicked Pele out of the world cup. Even today, it is hard to watch those images of Pele being repeatedly hacked and fouled in one of the earliest examples of ugly football. North Korea's last match in the World Cup was a Quarter-Final tie in 1966 against Portugal where they raced to a shock 3-0 lead before Eusebio took over and scored 4 goals en route to a 5-3 Portugese win. No repeat of that score line will take place when these two meet but atleast the North Korean team will be encouraged that a previous generation of national players scored three goals in the opening 25 minutes against Portugal.