A good movie

Not so long ago, I have seen ‘White Material’ also directed by Claire Denis and there is an obvious link with this movie which she was her directing debut and which she made 20 years before. Indeed, even though Denis was born in France, she actually spent the first 12 years of her life in Africa in various countries such as Cameroun, Somalia, Burkina Faso or Djibouti. Therefore, this movie was quite autobiographic and I thought it was quite mesmerizing. Still, the whole thing was obviously really personal for her and since we, the viewers, didn’t share these experiences with her, there was still some distance with the material and I never really fully connected with it. Eventually, ‘White Material’ would be even more obscure. Still, you really get a feeling of the place and Denis definitely developped some interesting dynamics and relationships between white and black folks beyond the usual stereotypes. This movie was also the opportunity to discover Isaach De Bankolé, an actor often working with Jim Jarmusch and one of the best African actors that I have ever seen. To conclude, even though it might not be a masterpiece, it is still a really intriguing feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Claire Denis’ work.

7/10