Six French-speaking nations join CCF film fest
By Yenni Kwok
JAKARTA (JP): The only common tie between these countries is French or their people's use of it during the colonial period. Through the language there is enough of a cultural bonding for them to participate in Cinema des Pays Francophones (Cinema from French-speaking countries).
Six films from Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, France, Mali and Tunisia will be shown at Taman Ismail Marzuki, organized by the Centre Culturel Francais (CCF), on March 22 and March 23.
Directed by Cheik Oumar Sissoko, one of the most talented directors in Africa, the 1995 film Guimba, un tyran, une epoque (Guimba, a tyrant, an era) tells of a tyrant ruler in Shitakili, a town in Mali.
Guimba Dunbuya, the tyrant, has a son called Janguini, who has been engaged to the beautiful Kani Coulibaly since their childhood. However, when Janguini visits Kani's house, he falls for her mother, Meya. Guimba, who loves and spoils his son, first tries to persuade Meya's husband to divorce his wife. When the husband doesn't comply, Guimba drives him from the city. The husband then flees to a hunting village, where a plan to rebel against the tyrant is prepared. Under the lead of Siriman Keita, a hunter, they are going to attack the city.
A dominating father is also a character in Belgium's La Promesse (The Promise, 1996). In this piece, however, the character on the run is the son himself. A father and his teenage son employ illegal immigrants in their construction project. An accident causes the death of one of the immigrants, which causes the son to escape from the dominating father. Set in the crime- ridden city of Leigi, this film by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardene shows the ruthless and dark reality of people living in poverty.
Cannes
Les silences du palais (The silence of the palace, 1994) won the director, Moufida Tlatli, the Quinsaine des Rialisateurs award at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. This first feature film of Tlatli tells the bitter story of a 25-year-old Tunisian woman called Alia.
Alia works as a singer at wedding banquets, but it only gives her humiliation and nothing else. Her devotion to Lotfi, a man whom she has lived together with for many years, only results in repeated abortions. Fed up, she finally stands up to him.
She was born an illegitimate child to a woman working as a maid to Prince Sid Ali. During the funeral of Prince Sid Ali, Alia visits the palace where she spends her childhood and teenage years. Her visit might reveal an answer to her life's mystery. Could her father be the prince himself?
A haunting past is also the theme of the Canadian film, La Confessional (The Confessional, 1995). After living in China for three years, Pierre returns to Quebec to attend his father's funeral.
During his visit, he and his adopted brother Marc try to bring back their adolescent memories, which they hope will help them discover their true selves.
Strangely, all the memories remind them of Alfred Hitchcock's 1952 film, La loi du silence, set in Quebec. Little by little, Hitchcock's suspense story becomes absurdly entangled with the life stories of the two brothers.
Cambodia
Happiness and certainty are inseparable for the Cambodian family portrayed in Les gens de la riziere (The people of the rice field, 1994). For Vong Poew, his wife and seven daughters, cultivating rice is not only their way of life, but also a source of happiness and a guarantee of well-being. The cyclical process, however, has a fragile balance and could easily slide into tragedy.
Les Gens de la riziere is the first feature film of 33-year-old Cambodian director, Rithy Pahn. His films are usually full of daily emotions, regular activities, and long dialog. Ironically, the film is a contrast to Pahn's dramatic life. He was only 10 years old when the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. In 1975, he had to endure a Khmer Rouge "brainwashing" camp, but he escaped to Thailand in 1979. The next year, he went to France, where he studied cinematography.
France's L'enfer (Hell, 1994) also tells about a tragedy. This time it is about a love story that ends tragically. On the surface, Paul (Francois Cluzet) and Nelly (Emmanuelle Beart) are a perfect couple in love. However, their relationship is jeopardized when Paul's jealousy becomes uncontrollable. He questions Nelly's fidelity. The wife, who has always given her sincere love, finally gets tired of his blind accusations.
Directed by Claude Chabrol, one of the most productive French directors, L'enfer is a mix of romance, tragedy and suspense. Here, Chabrol uses narrative voices to help strengthen the characters' acting.
CCF, the festival organizer, boasts that French is spoken by 200 million people in 49 countries, which belong to La Francophonie, a kind of commonwealth for French-speaking countries. In fact, Cinema des Pays Francophones is part of "World French Speaking Day," which is celebrated today, March 20.
Although they claim that French is their common thread, the films are made in their native languages. Only those from Belgium, Canada and France have dialog in French. The Malinese film is in Bambara, the Tunisian in Arabic and the Cambodian in Khmer. All of the films will have English subtitles.