By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Moussa Sene Absa
Starring: Ibrahima Mbaye | Lord Alajiman | Zéka La Plaine
Country: senegal
Year: 2007
Running time: 95
IMDB: http://www.terangablues.com/
Bruce says: “Billed as a rap musical TERANGA BLUES does indeed feature a character who is a rap singer recently deported from France and forced to return to Senegal with only 20 Euros to his name; however, Madiké (Lord Alajiman) only sings for a few seconds during the film and the remainder of the film curiously features music that is not vaguely in the rap category.
“Once Madiké arrives in Dakar he goes to see his old friend Maxu (Ibrahima Mbaye) and his mother (Yakhara Dem) and sister (Rokhaya Niang). He promises his family that they will move from their shack to a better place. When Maxu introduces Madiké to his friend Zéka (Zéka La Plaine) it begins to look as though Madiké may make good on the promises he made to his mother and sister. Zéka deals in black market munitions and needs a reliable and intelligent gun runner.
“After a few jobs Madiké buys a dream house and moves his family in. But his new girlfriend, his sister and mother finally become suspicious about the source of his new found wealth. Madiké has now become Zéka’s favourite and Maxu becomes insanely jealous. Money has made none of them very happy.
“The cinematography is at times stunning and director Moussa Sene Absa has a fabulous sense of style (for example, men in colorful costume on stilts) that he applies liberally throughout the film. While the theme of temptation in the material world may seem operatic the treatment is not. Absa doesn’t really carry off the film in ways that are needed to do his theme justice. TERANGA BLUES straddles several genres but doesn’t fit any of them well. It is not really a musical, a straightforward drama, or a thriller.
“Maxu has a dwarf sidekick that marks TERANGA BLUES as a candidate for being labeled the Senegalese SARATOGA
TRUNK. 3 cats
“TERANGA BLUES was screened as the 2007 African Film Festival at Lincoln Center.”