By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Cheick Fantamady Camara
Starring: Alex Ogou | Moussa Keita | Tella Kpomahou
Original language title: Il va pleuvoir sur Conakry
Country: guinea
Year: 2008
Running time: 115
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043486/
Bruce says: “Many films from Africa today are focusing on the heavy weight an average African must bear – the combined weight of tradition, politics and religion. CLOUDS OVER CONAKRY is a superb black comedy about the cultural complexities engulfing Bangali and Kesso, a young couple in Guinea, the capital of which is Conakry.
“Bangali, known by his nickname BB, is the political cartoonist for a prominent newspaper. Kesso is a website designer and also happens to be the daughter of the owner of the newspaper; Kesso’s mother is a travel agent. They are a modern upscale African family. In sharp contrast, BB’s family is anything but modern. His mother is one of several wives who obey the rules of their master. His father is an Islamic religious leader (an imam) who is also a marabout, a practitioner of ancient tribal fetishism involving the supernatural. He is not an educated man and the rationalization of his religious beliefs defies common sense.
“As BB’s personal and professional lives are flying high, BB’s father decides that his religious successor and heir should be BB who he thinks is more dynamic than his older more religious son. When he commands that BB leave for Saudi Arabia within a few days, BB does not have the courage to fight his father. Meanwhile, corrupt politicians summon BB’s father to call a special prayer meeting to help end the drought that has been punishing Guinea. The prayers are successful.
“Kesso has entered the Miss Guinea contest and is worried what her parents will think. BB is working on a cartoon that ridicules the concept of prayer for rain when the weather report predicted rain all along. Just before the Miss Guinea contest Kesso discovers she is pregnant. When she goes to BB’s apartment to tell him about the baby she discovers that his old girlfriend, a prominent nightclub chanteuse, has been there earlier.
“BB tries to make everyone happy and agrees to have Kesso give birth in his family village rather than in Conakry. He uses this as a bargaining chip for his father to send his brother to study the Qur’an in his stead. When the baby is born the father steals the baby from BB and Kesso and performs tribal rituals that support his beliefs. Tragedy strikes, pitting old Africa against contemporary Africa. The ugly fissures in the culture may never be bridged. 4.5 cats
“CLOUDS OVER CONARKY was screened at the 2007 African film Festival at Lincoln Center”