Emile Abossolo M’bo

Fred is a generous guy .He gives all his savings to the needy:but saints are a nuisance to live with at home ,and in the world we live in,it takes a lot of faith and a total commitment to succeed;no compromise is possible:his wife can’t go on living like that and his boss fires him.He could take to the road ,but he does not have faith.So he turns into a modern Robin Hood ,stealing from the rich and giving to the poor ; with his new girlfriend, they become idealized Bonnie and Clyde. Maguette,the mysterious black man they meet along the way, brings his strange wisdom;he tries to deal with the golden rules of society ,just to prove how absurd they may be: a royal heir in his native Africa,he can turn into a lawyer or into a chief inspector of schools.Read More »

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A futuristic film set in a dystopian Cameroonian city vaguely reminiscent of the dystopian Los Angeles in Ridley Scott’s classic BladeRunner, Les Saignantes is shot in high contrast lighting in what seems to be one long continuous night. The throbbing bass soundtrack of the film underscores the pulse of its rapid, jump-cut, music-video style editing. The characterization of the future city is a pessimistic allegory of the contemporary nation in Africa. By the year 2025, nothing has progressed; rather the country is still ruled by abusive power-drunk leaders who promise contracts to their mistresses; the police still take bribes and have no authority to actually investigate the crimes of the rich and powerful. Near the end of the film the smooth woman’s voiceover, which has performed the narrator’s function throughout the film, intones “We were already dead.” Re-watching the film with these words in mind, one wonders if the film, set a few years ahead in the future in 2025, is not the portrait of the spiritual aftermath of nation that has already died.Read More »

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Present-day Chad. Adam, sixty something, a former swimming champion, is pool attendant at a smart N’Djamena hotel. When the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to give up his job to his son Abdel. Terribly resentful, he feels socially humiliated. The country is in the throes of a civil war. Rebel forces are attacking the government. The authorities demand that the population contribute to the “war effort”, giving money or volunteers old enough to fight off the assailants. The District Chief constantly harasses Adam for his contribution. But Adam is penniless; he only has his son…. Read More »