This movie is incredibly refreshing and thought-provoking.
First, as someone who is vaguely familiar with African cinema, the filmmaker is considerably avant-guard in his approach to the political satire. The lighting used to evoke emotion is both stark and beautifully layered against the destitute, and often scary backdrop of present day Cameroon.
Also, the protagonists of this film are women. More importantly, they are superheroes of sorts, who use their beauty and brains to get what they want and need in a country where the government does not fulfill its most basic function to its people, which is to provide an infrastructure that can sustain job development, education, and health care for its citizens. Their "super powers" come from a cultural tradition called the mevoungou, in which they use their sexual prowess to overtake their aggressors.
To be honest, I thought these women where gold-diggers when I started watching the film. However, they are so deeply connected to their culture that they derive strength from a cultural facet that can easily be mocked by most representatives of modernity.
The plot, though disjointed, does express one major point, which is that this film is not about the inabilities of a people, but rather that of a government. With so many initiatives starting back up that aim to help "Africa", such as LIVE EIGHT or the fight to end paybacks of IMF and WORLD BANK loans, there has been a real focus on a mass body of PEOPLE not being able to provide for itself. However, I think present day media furthers an injustice because as a privileged set, Americans can forget that Africans are part of a continent and within the continent are countries and nation states that are then sustained by governments. If those governments cannot provide for its people, can we simply say that the PEOPLE are destitute and lacking, or rather, should we say that their governments are?
The best part of this film is that rather than ask "What is wrong with Africa(ns)?," this film demands that the audience ask the question that often gets ignored in the debate which is, "What is wrong with African leaders and their method of governance?" This is a question worth being heard, and for that reason this is a film worth seeing.
First, as someone who is vaguely familiar with African cinema, the filmmaker is considerably avant-guard in his approach to the political satire. The lighting used to evoke emotion is both stark and beautifully layered against the destitute, and often scary backdrop of present day Cameroon.
Also, the protagonists of this film are women. More importantly, they are superheroes of sorts, who use their beauty and brains to get what they want and need in a country where the government does not fulfill its most basic function to its people, which is to provide an infrastructure that can sustain job development, education, and health care for its citizens. Their "super powers" come from a cultural tradition called the mevoungou, in which they use their sexual prowess to overtake their aggressors.
To be honest, I thought these women where gold-diggers when I started watching the film. However, they are so deeply connected to their culture that they derive strength from a cultural facet that can easily be mocked by most representatives of modernity.
The plot, though disjointed, does express one major point, which is that this film is not about the inabilities of a people, but rather that of a government. With so many initiatives starting back up that aim to help "Africa", such as LIVE EIGHT or the fight to end paybacks of IMF and WORLD BANK loans, there has been a real focus on a mass body of PEOPLE not being able to provide for itself. However, I think present day media furthers an injustice because as a privileged set, Americans can forget that Africans are part of a continent and within the continent are countries and nation states that are then sustained by governments. If those governments cannot provide for its people, can we simply say that the PEOPLE are destitute and lacking, or rather, should we say that their governments are?
The best part of this film is that rather than ask "What is wrong with Africa(ns)?," this film demands that the audience ask the question that often gets ignored in the debate which is, "What is wrong with African leaders and their method of governance?" This is a question worth being heard, and for that reason this is a film worth seeing.
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