Mamadou Dioume Movies
- 2008
A beleaguered mother attempts to ensure that everything is perfect for her daughter's wedding despite the fact that their dysfunctional family is coming apart at the seams in writer/director François Dupeyron's darkly comic family drama. Christie Mousse is about to get married, and what she doesn't know is that her deadbeat dad recently gambled away the money that was intended to pay for the reception. As Christie's long-suffering mother Sonia dutifully reassures her daughter that the ceremony will go off without a hitch, the lawless exploits of her angry adolescent son Victor gradually threaten to cast a shadow over her daughter's picture perfect wedding. Recently, Sonia has been saving up money in hopes of purchasing the Laundromat where she currently works, though before the day is through she will be forced to contend with a development that threatens the livelihood of her entire family. Will Sonia manage to keep her cool as usual, or will this be the day when she finally tells everyone what's really on her mind? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Felicite Wouassi, Claude Rich, (more)
- 1991
Soriba Samb (Oumar Diop Makena) is a Senegalese who has gotten a much-prized internship to study filmmaking in Paris. In this story, Soriba heads to Paris, accompanied by the five-year old son of a friend of his who is believed to be still living in Paris. In addition to coping with his new internship, Soriba has to track down the boy's father Issa, a childhood friend of his, and attempt to persuade him to return to Senegal. When he finds him, he discovers that he is successfully running a prostitution ring, and selling pornography, and is not at all inclined to leave Paris. Despite that, Soriba goes to the trouble of performing the spells and rituals he has promised Issa's mom he would do. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hélène Lapiower
Director Peter Brook collaborates with writer Jean-Claude Carriére for this screen adaptation of the epic, 100,000-stanza Sanskrit poem tracing mankind's quest for universal truth as explored through the ongoing conflict between two warring families - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Originally a nine-hour stage production, the lengthy play was pared down to just over five hours for the screen. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Langton-Lloyd, Antonin Stahly-Vishwanadan, (more)
- 1986
This is a charming and successful farce from director Thomas Gilou, featuring a witty screenplay co-authored by producer Monique Annaud. When a group of African squatters in Paris are threatened with eviction, they find themselves fighting against a bureaucracy that few French citizens understand, let alone immigrants. In desperation, they turn to their best option to resolve this dilemma: they call for a sorcerer from home. The sorcerer hops on a jet to Paris to cast spells on the entrenched bureaucrat, and while en route he strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger, mentioning his job pays quite well. The interested passenger could stand to make a few extra francs, so he decides to take the sorcerer's place. Once he arrives, this imposter has to act like he knows what he is doing, and at the same time, he had better solve the eviction problem. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jacques Villeret, Isaach de Bankolé, (more)
Based on pulp master Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280, Bertrand Tavernier's Coup de Torchon is a sardonic thriller that remains true to its source's spirit, even as it transposes the action from the American South to colonial West Africa. Lucien (Philippe Noiret) is the bumbling police chief of Bourkasa, a dusty outpost in rural Senegal. Badgered by local thugs, Lucien initially comes across as a pathetic oaf unable to stand up for himself. Things at home are scarcely better, as Lucien finds himself harried by his nagging wife, Huguette (Stéphane Audran), who is carrying on an affair with a man she claims to be her brother (Eddy Mitchell). Without warning, Lucien embarks on a nonchalant killing spree, murdering everyone who has ever mistreated him. As he sets about "cleaning the slate," Lucien intensifies his affair with ditsy Rose (Isabelle Huppert), all the while pining for the newly arrived schoolteacher, Anne (Irene Skobline). Remaining above suspicion even as bodies pile up, the seemingly witless Lucien gradually develops a twisted logic for his actions, animating his crusade with an evangelical purpose. By movie's end, Tavernier leaves little room for redemption, leaving the joyless Lucien mired in a moral quagmire of his own making. ~ Elbert Ventura, Rovi
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Isabelle Huppert, (more)
