Pioneering postcolonial Senegalese film Mandabi streams via The Cinematheque to January 28
Ousmane Sembène’s 1968 film, the first shot in the Wolof language, sees a 4K restoration
The arrival of a money order from France wreaks havoc in Mandabi.
The Cinematheque streams Mandabi until January 28
THE FILMS that we see about postcolonial Africa or Asia often come from the perspective of French directors; Claire Denis’s Chocolat or Régis Wargnier’s Indochine come to mind.
That’s why it’s still so refreshing to see a much earlier film, 1968’s game-changing Mandabi (The Money Order), streaming until tomorrow in a vivid new 4K restoration via The Cinematheque.
Start with the fact that the satire, by Senegalese director and writer Ousmane Sembène, was the first movie ever made in the Wolof language. The artist had long dreamed of creating a film in the language spoken by the vast majority of Senegalese citizens—and not French.
It was one way he invented a new kind of cinema for Africans. In the simple, ironic tale, the poor Ibrahima—father to seven and a husband to two wives—is sent a money order for 25,000 francs from his nephew in Paris. But his attempts to cash the order run up against red tape, including the fact he has no ID.
Meanwhile, his wives are leveraging the order for credit and neighbors are asking for loans.
It’s a simple, laconic, but bitingly funny look at the greed, inequity, and chaos left in the wake of colonial rule.
In this era of lockdown, it’s also a fascinating trip to another time and place—beginning with a detailed scene of barbers shaving heads in a dirt-road Dakar square. Brought to life with frenetic traditional stringed music, the film is replete with billowing kaftans, red kufis, and gorgeously piled headdresses, all set against modernist ‘60s Africa. The bureaucrats, notably, are the only ones in European suits.
It’s rooted in the past and stands as an iconic work of African film history, but Mandabi still speaks to the issues of today—migrant workers, poverty, and injustice. Plus ça change... or however they say that in Wolof.
Find more information here.
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