This movie, truly fits the phrase, "The Africa they don't show you", like a glove.
Directed by Cheick Fantamady Camara,a Guinean,this movie analyses three important identity crisis's facing Africa today, namely, religion, tribalism, and the more contemporary standards of the modern day world.
The film follows a journalist, who is trying to reconcile these three contrasting ideals in his life. It exposes the everyday life of Africans, beyond the popular war-torn images we are so used to. It also explores gender roles and the controversial "honour killings", while interweaving humour and satire. The end, however, comes as a big shock!
Africa, as we know it, is a continent being stretched in different directions, what with the legacy of colonialism, as well as indigenous cultures, religions and tribalism. Likewise, the identity of an African, is a somewhat confusing phenomenon, take me as en example, I am a contradiction to myself! I am a Muslim, South African, female, native English speaker, with Indian ancestry, and an African heart :)
For a good look into Africa, and to gain a better understanding of the philosophies that shape it, this is a must see!
For a detailed review see http://www.filmref.com/journal/archives/2007/04/clouds_over_conakry_2007.html
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1 comment:
This looks a great movie from the way you review it. Anything that grapples with unravelling the African identity surely must be good viewing. I will see if i can catch myself a copy. Thanks for bringing it to our knowledge.
Don
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