Faat Kine

Out of all of the African films I've seen over the past few months, no film was more charming than director Ousmane Sembene's dramedy Faat Kine. The story is surprisingly funny and this was a relief considering the fact that all of the African films I have recently seen have generally focused on a multitude of depressing subjects including racial oppression, tribal warfare, rape, and genocide. The fact that Faat Kine refuses to see herself as a victim or someone to be pitied is what makes the story particularly admirable. She has made a success of herself in spite of the odds and ought to be viewed more favourably from people like her parents.

In Faat Kine the Senegalese Sembene does an excellent job of conveying a feeling of a people living in a place that still contains vestiges from the colonial period. Hearing the French language in addition to Wolof naturally reminds one of the influence the French in Senegal, while other examples of Western influences are apparent in areas like technology. The children wear modern clothing and people drive cars while at the same time there are those who choose to don traditional outfits and walk around with a basket on their head.

Although the film's budget doesn't appear to have been very large, the costumes have to be recognized because they truly are remarkable. The splashes of all of the bright solid colors and the imaginative patterns are particularly noticable on the truly ebony tones of the women in the story. The striking head-pieces also add to the indication of the idea of individual efforts to support a cultural steadfastness. The fact that Faat Kine's son Djip wears both western and traditional items of clothing is an example of how Sembene cleverly uses small things to convey large ideas.

Sembene has made an enjoyable film that explores what it is like to be a woman working in a post-colonial, yet still patriarchal African society. He provides a kind of commentary on the challenges that face people who are still on some level attempting to integrate aspects of both worlds into their lives. Through the criticism of both the father and teacher of Faat Kine, Sembene is also commenting on the importance of having males do the right thing when they are in positions of authority.

Umm, I don't get it...?

100 Days - A Review

Having independently done research on the Rwandan genocide for my half of a class presentation on the subject, I was very curious to see director Nick Hughes film 100 Days because it would be the the first non-documentary film regarding the tragic events of 1994 that I would have an opportunity to see, not having gotten the chance to see anything more than a few clips from recent, more mainstream drama Hotel Rwanda. Although the three documentaries I saw (Ghosts of Rwanda, Keepers of Memory, and In the Tall Grass) naturally felt more thorough in terms of presenting factual information, 100 Days succeeds more in bringing the element of humanity to the story of these tragic people, and is therefore equally worthy of being viewed.

The element of humanity is most evident in that a dramatic film like 100 Days is easily able to include things like romantic relationships and an immediate dialogue of the events as they are happening, as opposed to a documentary like Keepers of Memory which relies primarily of interviews with people who recall things that were said and done. In 100 Days, even though the film isn't a documentary, there is a very realistic tone to the film because one is essentially with theses people as they are facing their tragic circumstances, rather than listening in to the conversations of those who remember. In a documentary, while the subject matter is equally horrifying, there is some consolation in knowing that the people who are being interviewed have at least survived. In 100 Days one can't know what the fate will be for the characters that they are becoming invested in so there is that extra layer of nervousness throughout the story.

The cinematography is beautiful, and the viewers are initially led into a false sense of security. (Imagine if someone went into the film without any idea of the subject matter!) We are treated to shots of lush scenery and there's an idyllic quality perforating the environment. Things are pretty and normal as they should be. The decision to include things like images of romantic relationships without making them seem somehow frivolous (as it would in a piece of standard Hollywood fare) is also remarkable and adds to the depth of the film. The love shown between the young couple in the beginning of the story appears to be genuine, so much so that it is almost as if one feels as though one is intruding on an intimate moment. My knowledge that this film would be dealing with the genocide only made this scene all the more poignant.

Much of the film is successful in terms of its authenticity, and this is another reason why this film can easily stand up to the earlier mentioned documentary films. The viewers see the side of both the Tutsis and the Hutus and, although the documentaries are more skillful in relating the history of the two groups (complete with rare old footage of both groups), it is understood that the matter is not simply the case of Hutus deciding to persecute Tutsis on some selfish whim for power. Both sides have suffered, we see, and unfortunately there is no simple solution to the problem between the two groups. The viewers only know that the solution ought not be resolved with mass killings of one group.

The element of faith is something that is also touched on in both 100 Days and the documentaries that I watched. Surely, a holy church of god should be shelter enough for those who are seeking to protect themselves from evil if they are indeed believers? In the documentaries we see the mass "graves" in more than one christian church. In 100 days the reality of the church being able to do nothing to help save lives is further illustrated. Rather than providing adequate protection, the church only serves the purpose of rounding up potential victims so that they are easily accessible. These scenes were even more horrifying than the actual images of the dead in the documentary. In the documentaries the dead are already dead. In 100 Days the people who seek refuge in the church are still alive; there is still the possibility of hope even though one knows it's hopeless, and that is much more disturbing--the idea of seeing people alive only to know that nothing can be done now to keep them that way.

Unbelievably moving. Undeniably tragic. Four Stars.