Some great satirical moments and apt critiques of the corrupt transition from colonial rule, but I found it a bit puzzling on the whole. It didn't help that the New Yorker Video release has pretty patchy subtitles. Still, I haven't seen a Sembene film that isn't worth watching, Xala included. I would probably start with La noire de... if you're curious about Sembene's work.
The cover calls this a comedy and it does start out like American Pie with 60 year old corrupt businessmen before crossing the line into outright degradation.
There seems to be some social critique, but the final scene seems like it was put there just to disgust the viewer.
My opinion about Xala comes from someone who has been watching films regularly and extensively, undertook formal education on the subject, and yet has not really experienced African cinema. The productions coming from that continent remain for me largely unknown, as they are not well (at all) represented outside Africa. I did not quite know what to expect; I was half-wondering whether it would be like encountering Kurosawa's films for the first time and being surprised and transfixed by their pacing. Or sensing the difference between American and European cinema, where the former prefers epos and the latter favours humanism. (By the way, Soviet cinema was very much like American. The reasons were different, as Hollywood was trying to sell tickets as widely as possible, and Soviet system was ideologically set on social realism, but the results were alike.)
It turns out, African cinema is unlike anything else I know, very approachable, and somewhat disturbing. This is, of course, based on Xala; I am sure there is a great genre and tone variety within the continent.
The story told by Sembène in this film is quite simple and not at all the interesting part; the film is not about 'what', it's about 'how'. It is the combination of traditional local beliefs, symbolism used both 'as is' and in a cinematic fashion, and distinct characters which make Xala fascinating. While depicting a very patriarchal society (polygamy is at heart of one of the main conflicts), Sembène created a gallery of strong female types, each of whom governs the screen they share with the male characters.
There is a weird combination of a socially-conscious approach (Sembène was a Communist and trained as director in Moscow) and the grotesque. The editing leaves a few questions as the narrative seems to be cut and patched together at will, with some of the characters re-appearing in place B long after they had left it. The best feature, for me, was the gaze: we are seeing the characters at level with ourselves, there is enough detail to ground this in a very credible reality, the viewer is more of a witness than a spectator. That excludes heavy judgement even when that is suggested by the plot.
Add your comment
Comments 1 - 4 of 4
the3rdman
Some great satirical moments and apt critiques of the corrupt transition from colonial rule, but I found it a bit puzzling on the whole. It didn't help that the New Yorker Video release has pretty patchy subtitles. Still, I haven't seen a Sembene film that isn't worth watching, Xala included. I would probably start with La noire de... if you're curious about Sembene's work.UnEnfantPerdu
We are all BASTARDS!TheGallopingGhost
The cover calls this a comedy and it does start out like American Pie with 60 year old corrupt businessmen before crossing the line into outright degradation.There seems to be some social critique, but the final scene seems like it was put there just to disgust the viewer.
kottonen
My opinion about Xala comes from someone who has been watching films regularly and extensively, undertook formal education on the subject, and yet has not really experienced African cinema. The productions coming from that continent remain for me largely unknown, as they are not well (at all) represented outside Africa. I did not quite know what to expect; I was half-wondering whether it would be like encountering Kurosawa's films for the first time and being surprised and transfixed by their pacing. Or sensing the difference between American and European cinema, where the former prefers epos and the latter favours humanism. (By the way, Soviet cinema was very much like American. The reasons were different, as Hollywood was trying to sell tickets as widely as possible, and Soviet system was ideologically set on social realism, but the results were alike.)It turns out, African cinema is unlike anything else I know, very approachable, and somewhat disturbing. This is, of course, based on Xala; I am sure there is a great genre and tone variety within the continent.
The story told by Sembène in this film is quite simple and not at all the interesting part; the film is not about 'what', it's about 'how'. It is the combination of traditional local beliefs, symbolism used both 'as is' and in a cinematic fashion, and distinct characters which make Xala fascinating. While depicting a very patriarchal society (polygamy is at heart of one of the main conflicts), Sembène created a gallery of strong female types, each of whom governs the screen they share with the male characters.
There is a weird combination of a socially-conscious approach (Sembène was a Communist and trained as director in Moscow) and the grotesque. The editing leaves a few questions as the narrative seems to be cut and patched together at will, with some of the characters re-appearing in place B long after they had left it. The best feature, for me, was the gaze: we are seeing the characters at level with ourselves, there is enough detail to ground this in a very credible reality, the viewer is more of a witness than a spectator. That excludes heavy judgement even when that is suggested by the plot.