By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Laura Muscardin
Starring: Carmen De Santos | Marco Bonini | Paolo Gasparini | Susy Laude | Thierno Thiam
Country: italy, senegal
Year: 2007
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0826816/
Bruce says: “Billo (Thierno Thiam), a young man from Senegal, has wanted to be a fashion designer since he was a small child put to work in his uncle’s garment business. He and his mother have always been the black sheep of the family; they live in a shack near wealthy relatives who are friendly but condescending in ways that constantly reinforce the belief they don’t measure up. They are religious Muslims whose encounters with others are laced with phrases such as ‘Thanks be to God,’ ‘Peace be with you,’ and ‘Let us thank God.’ Billo and his beautiful cousin Fantou (Carmen De Santos) have been in love with one another since they were children. Her parents will not consider her marrying her ne’er do well cousin.
“Billo recognizes that he is talented and that must leave Senegal to elevate his status. Through a tightknit Senegalese network, he makes his way to Rome. Soon he finds both employment and shelter. Religiously, he sends money back home. Some of his fellow Senegalese in Rome say ‘Don’t mix with the whites.’ Others say ‘The whites are in paradise, we’ve got all the problems.’ Billo hears those comments as echoes of ‘God made us poor and your cousins rich,’ his mother’s old refrain. He clearly does not want to play any game according to other people’s rules or limited expectations.
“He becomes friends with two gay men (Marco Bonini and Paolo Gasparini) through whom he meets Laura (Susy Laude) the sister of one of them. She and her friends ogle Billo and refer to him as ‘the black hunk.’ Laura, particularly smitten makes the first move; it doesn’t take long before she and Billo embark on a full-fledged affair. He loses his job when a white woman makes advances then complains when he does not respond positively to them. His friends connect him with an entrepreneur who sees potential in Billo’s sample hip-hop clothing. As he earns a reputation, his relationship with Laura becomes more intense. Out of the blue his family calls him back to Senegal to marry his cousin Fantou. He feels a duty to do so and he still has strong feelings for her. But Billo is not about to settle down in Senegal permanently; he leaves Fantou tear ridden as he flies back to Rome. Once back in Rome he learns Laura is pregnant. Now his dilemma is whether or not to take a second wife; Islamic law will allow a second wife as long as the first marriage was arranged. Can two families be kept separate or should they be brought together? Is it possible to have a black family in Africa and a white family in Europe?
“BILLO is not the story of an average black man seeking work in a foreign country, the type who is forced to work illegally or work for a pittance as a guest worker. Thierno Thiam is a devastatingly handsome man and it is easy to see how he can transcend the barriers of nationality, language and race. Thiam has a commanding screen presence that makes BILLO delightful, overcoming a script that at times borders on the trite and hackneyed. BILLO’s joyous moments are unfortunately the consequence of characters blessed with combinations of being beautiful, rich and well-connected. That in itself is not unrealistic, just a strange Hollywood approach from a collaboration of Italians and Senegalese. 3.5 cats
“BILLO screened as part of the 2007 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema program at Lincoln Center”