By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Starring: Achouackh Abakar Souleymane | Briya Gomdigue | Hadje Fatime N'Goua | Rihane Khalil Alio | Saleh Sambo | Youssouf Djaoro
Country: belgium, chad, france, germany
Year: 2022
Running time: 87
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13846546/reference
Brett says: “The film LINGUI, translated as ‘The Sacred Bond(s),’ is a culturally compelling work at the very least. It is a story of a single mother and her 15-year old daughter in Chad who are caught in a web of shame amid their reverent and strict Muslim community. The primary conflict is tied to the unexpected pregnancy of the daughter. The stakes are raised when the girl wishes to get an abortion, which contradicts both religious and national laws in Chad. This is compounded by the fact that her single mother is already the subject of scorn and ridicule within the village.
“Perhaps the most rewarding moments of the film were brief transition sequences when the mother was able to release and display a bit of her free spirit in the wake of crisis and suppression. For a Western audience, the parallels to oft-trending discussions in news cycles related to reproductive rights issues in Catholicism (or Christianity in general) are noticeable, even though the practices of this particular sect of Islam are standing on the narrative’s surface. It is also notable that the film title is in both the native language and translated, which seems to fit with the universal themes at play here, expanding the snapshot of an Muslim community in Chad to some things that might equate in a downtown Western world metropolis. The many social issues related to women’s rights bring up a familiar examination of our globe’s many discrepancies in societies that seem to lay out different rules for people who are all simply human.
“Despite the important themes at the forefront here, there are some questionable moments in the film’s execution at times. Early on, the revelation of some of the tenets of the Islamic order come across a little too preachy (that is, overexplained), both figuratively and literally. For a viewer that prefers to be guided toward the conflict rather beaten over the head with an “obvious stick,” this was a tad problematic at first. The exposition as a whole is a bit basic in a similar fashion rather than cinematically nuanced. Furthermore, some of the sequences come across as a bit contrived in the way they are filmed. For instance, there is a conversation early in the film between two possible love interests that shifts geography/spatial continuity mid-conversation, not just once but twice. This sort of stylistic decision only serves to subvert the believability and any attempt at realism seemingly just for the sake of trying something artsy.
“Beyond that, there are some performance issues that border on amateurish as well. As just one example, the daughter portrays a troubling nightmare experience that misses the mark and appears to be a bit too “put on.” Just in general, some of the outbursts and emotional responses distracted from the story because they felt like an stretch in performance. Additionally, there are a few clumsy transitions from scene to scene that clash with the established “language” of cinema and editing. Fortunately, there are also many scenes later in the film in which the performers redeem themselves and make the narrative more compelling and emotionally charged. In fact, to its credit, this is definitely a picture that tends to pick up steam and dramatic momentum the longer it goes.
“Despite some acting that is a bit clunky and clumsy at times and some questionable editing decisions, these are the very things that might make the film endearing to some audiences. The argument here is not that a film like this should have all the Classical Hollywood Cinema bells and whistles; it’s just that there is some basic syntax and structure gaffes that contradict the stylistic reaches the film is obviously going for. In short, the argument here is not that there is only one way to make a movie, but when the director commits to certain benchmarks and Westernized tropes of narrative cinema, the misfires are just inconsistent and noticeable with the reaches being made. As stated earlier though, there are many audiences who will be more forgiving, fully buy in, and enjoy this moving social drama. 2 cats out of 5
“Recommended for viewers who enjoy films that champion issues in human rights/women’s rights (there are far more issues featured here than just the central abortion storyline)”