Ousmane Sembene’s last film, and also one of his finest.
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If you were paying attention during the Oscar telecast´s "In Memoriam" segment, you saw Ousmane Sembene´s name flash by briefly. The Senegalese director, the most celebrated African filmmaker, died on June 9, 2007 at the age of 84, leaving behind a relatively sparse body of work, just nine features and four short films over a 40 year career in cinema.
Sembene´s debut feature "Black Girl" (1966) was not only the first feature film by a sub-Saharan African director, it was a genuine masterpiece, not merely a great African film but simply a great film. "Black Girl" first brought Sembene to the attention of the world cinema community, but he was hardly obscure when it was released. Sembene was also one of Africa´s most celebrated authors; his first novel was published in 1956 and he continued to write critically-hailed books, short stories and plays for the rest of his life.
On both the page and the screen, Sembene was primarily concerned with expressing and exploring the political and economic struggles of Africans. In "Moolaadé" (2004), Sembene´s final film, he turned his attention to the plight of women in Africa, and launched a scathing attack on the traditions that punish women and help perpetuate the patriarchy.
A group of young girls runs into the courtyard and begs a woman for help. They have chosen wisely. The woman is Collé Gallo Ardo Sy (Fatoumata Coulibaly), and once she realizes that the girls have fled from the "purification" she leaves no stone unturned in her effort to provide sanctuary to the girls. The "purification" is a euphemistic term for female genital mutilation (FGM), a brutal ritual still practiced in many parts of Africa today. A young girl has her clitoris removed, nominally as a rite of passage but, in reality, to assure she will not be tempted to be unfaithful to her future husband. The procedure is painful and sometimes deadly. Women who do not submit to FGM are stigmatized as Bilakoro, and no "real" man would ever consider marrying a Bilakoro.
As it turns out Collé would not allow he own daughter to be purified and she´ll be damned if she lets it happen to these girls either. She invokes the power of the Moolaadé, or "protection" which prevents anyone from taking the girls from her custody until she speaks the word that ends it. Collé has always been considered a troublemaker, but now her transgression against custom has gone so far to threaten the very social fabric of her village, and the elders will not stand for it. Unfortunately, the men in power don´t account for the quiet strength and resolve of Collé and many of the other women in the village.
Sembene doesn´t mince words. His films are overtly political, and his characters speak their minds. In some cases, this makes Sembene´s films seem excessively preachy, but he has a remarkable way of alloying his politics with humor and gentle observation. Even in a scene in which a merchant is being chased out of town by a bloodthirsty mob, Sembene adds a wry touch as overpriced trinkets topple out of the overflowing cart the desperate man hauls behind him.
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