Even if the critical reactions have been mixed, Italian films have proven much stronger than usual at this year’s Venice Film Festival, with a notable resurgence of genre filmmaking in the likes of…
Seydou lives with his widowed mother and little sisters in Dakar. They are poor and live cramped together under the roof of a tiny, ramshackle house, but family life is happy. In fact, it opens with a joyousparty, with Seydou slapping away at the tribal drums while the women dance like crazy in neon wigs and fancy clothes. Seydou’s mother thinks he has been playing football all day, but the 16-year-old has secretly taken a day job as a laborer, being paid cash in hand.
, Seydou blurts this out to his mother, who is furious and forbids it. Seydou gets cold feet, but Moussa insists they press on with the plan. In the market they meet a man they have been told will help them, but he refuses to do so. “Europe is nothing like you imagine,” he yells at them. The boys are shocked to hear that Europe is cold, and that homeless people sleep on the streets. “If you want to die, go!” he shouts. Again, Seydou demurs, but Moussa is undeterred.
After a surreal encounter with a witchdoctor, and a trip to the cemetery to secure the necessary permission to leave from the spirits of their dead ancestors, the two boys take off in the middle of the night, taking a long, cramped bus ride to Agadez in Niger, the first leg of a journey that will take them through the Sahara Desert to Tripoli, and from there to Italy.
Garrone will later show the distance the boys intend to travel, and it is quite simply insane. It is also incredibly dangerous; bodies litter the desert; and the psychopathically gonzo Libyan mafia ambush their party, forcing everyone to drink a laxative potion to flush out any hidden cash. When they are taken to a disused prison, where more money will be extorted.
Despite its technical elegance — and the film is near flawless in that respect — the biggest achievement in Garrone’s film is its casting. Using non-professionals found in an open call, it is authentic at every step of its audacious journey.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
2024 Polls Suggest Haley, Ramaswamy are Gaining on DeSantisSee multiple perspectives from Florida Politics, Axios, and National Review at AllSides.com.
Read more »
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers reiterate jail release request, DOJ says laptop access sufficientBankman-Fried has sufficient access to a laptop to review discovery in jail, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Read more »
New XRP Growth Fuel Here, Here's How Long It May RiseCrypto Market Review: Thanks to positive outcome in Grayscale case, market believes recovery is around corner
Read more »
‘Daddio’ Review: Sean Penn And Dakota Johnson Drive Breakthrough First Film From Christy HallDaddio is a knockout, the sort of breakthrough by a virtual unknown that many might dream about but only rarely takes place. Entirely set in a taxi stuck for a long time at night on a jammed highwa…
Read more »
Review: Chicago Jazz Fest sees huge turnout in Millennium ParkWhat’s not to like? Well, maybe one thing. 'All I want to know is: Who ordered this weather?” the overheated trumpeter Pharez Whitted quipped.
Read more »
‘Coup de Chance’ Review: Woody Allen’s French Film Is Competent but ForgettableStarring Lou de Laage, Melvil Poupaud and Niels Schneider, the director's film about wealthy, adulterous Parisians played out of competition in Venice.
Read more »