Tonight I watched a movie called "Black Girl"(1966), made by Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene. Now there's a first - we haven't had a movie from Senegal before. I found it on the Foreign Films rack at Northridge Libe. It was released by Criterion, so I decided to check it out. "Black Girl" is the story of a young woman from Dakar named Diouana (played by Mbissine Therese Diop). Diouana lives in a slum on the outskirts of the city, which is modern due to French colonization. A high rise apartment complex houses mostly French expats. Diouana is looking for a job as a maid, so she goes to the building and eventually is hired by a 30ish white woman (Anne Marie Jelinek) who hails from Antibes on the French Riviera. The woman wants Diouana to be a nanny to her three children, which she does for a while while the woman and her husband are based in Dakar. There is no mention of the occupations of the French couple, but it is likely they are related somehow to the former colonial government. Neither seems to work, so perhaps they are second generation heirs living in Senegal on a stipend. But they plan to move back to France, and Diouana is exited because she will be going with them. This is where the movie starts, actually, when the husband meets Diouana at the Nice airport. All the Dakar stuff is told in flashback.
Diouana is thrilled to be in France. She's heard all about the Riviera and can't wait to visit Cannes and the beaches, to shop at French boutiques with the money she will earn. She cuts a striking figure upon her arrival at the airport, dressed as fashionably as any Parisian woman in in clothing given to her by her new boss, whom she calls "Madame". She will continue to care for Madame's children, which she is good at, and in her off hours she will explore and soak up French culture. She was raised to respect it, after all. As a child, her country was still under French rule.
Diouana's expectations are high, but as soon as she get to Antibes, and the home of the French couple, Madame changes her duties. Now she wants Diouana to be her maid, to cook and clean. The children are nowhere in sight, having been shipped off to stay with a relative. Madame works Diouana's fingers to the bone every day, and scolds her for sleeping late, even though she's exhausted. She orders Diouana not to wear her nice dresses and high heel shoes, even though it was Madame herself who gave her the clothes. "You're a maid! Dress like one"! she yells at Diouana, who is getting a whole new impression of Madame. Before, when they were in Senegal, Madame was kind and generous, but now Diouana sees that was just a ploy to lure her back to France. Now that she's there, in the couple's home and in a foreign country, she's trapped. Madame has shown her true colors, which are those of a World Class Bitch who treats Diouana like a slave. She won't let her leave the house except to go to the market, and she calls Diouana "lazy", with all the racial implications that go with it. Madame's husband is nice enough, but he's an alcoholic who won't intervene on Diouana's behalf. Madame's friends come over for dinner and compliment Diouana's cooking, but in a backhanded way, as if she isn't there. They see her as a curiosity, something exotic to be remarked upon and critiqued. Madame smiles in front of them, as if she is proud of herself for showing Diouana how white people live.
Eventually, Diouana will tire of Madame's treatment of her, and will resolve to get out from under the woman's thumb. The husband pays her full wages in a lump sum, so she's got the money to return to Senegal if she chooses. But will she?
You'll have to see for yourself, of course.
"Black Girl" runs a mere 59 minutes (which we love because Short Movies Rule), but in this case, as opposed to the 60-75 minute Hollywood films we've watched and reviewed, there isn't much happening in the script. Other than the flashbacks from Dakar, we basically see Diouana doing her household chores while Madame sits around smoking cigarettes and complaining. Also - and this is important - while Madame is indeed a bitch, she's not entirely unfair with Diouana, who does have a bit of an attitude right off the bat. Madame does make the occasional attempt to communicate with Diouana, even if it's insincere. I mention this because a) there's not much else happening in this movie, and b) because the director paints the issue of "Madame vs. Diouana" in black & white, both literally and figuratively, when a few shades of grey would've made things more realistic in my opinion.
Still, it's an involving story, and the photography is fantastic, as is Sembene's choice of imagery. He has a unique sense of what to show us at any given moment, which gives his movie an abstract quality. Most of the time, however, he is focused on Miss Diop as Diouana. With her angular face and lithe body, she has the look of a Nubian Princess who should be no one's doormat, and she knows it too. If only Sembene could have explored her feelings more deeply, or developed her relationship with Madame beyond a basic level, he might've had a classic movie on his hands. Instead, he's got an interesting art film that feels unfinished.
Still, I give it Two Solid Thumbs Up, for the photography and Miss Diop's performance, and I also recommend you see it. It is a unique little film, that's for sure. ////
It's now Tuesday evening and I'm at home, so I'll be watching another film in just a little while. Right now I'm gonna read for a bit. I'm still working on my 9/11 book by David Icke, and also a new one by Dr. Farrell called "McCarthy, Marshall and The Other International", which is about corruption and Communism in the Roosevelt Administration, and the probability that Pearl Harbor was a LIHOP situation (meaning they "Let It Happen On Purpose"), just like 9/11.
That's all for the moment. See you later tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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