A fascinating tale that intertwines personal struggles with cultural legacies from Africa, where rituals and music are full of meaning, and Europe, as a colonizer and also as the promised land for immigrants moving from East to West, and South to North.
Outstand from the cast Jomo (Morr Ndiaye), his sister Udoka (Laetitia Ky) and captivating Aleksei (Franz Rogowski) Their stories mix up in a screenplay that was selected by the Festival de Cannes´La Résidence Cinefondation
Written and directed by Giacomo Abbruzzese, the film is enriched with Hélène Louvart ´s beautiful images and original music by Vitalic.
The first sequence is of a group of men, torsos bare, resting, while the camera softly flies into the tropical forest in search of Nigerian profound cultural roots and distinctive eyes, among other things. In another part of the world, Aleksei and his friend Mikhail, both born in Belarus and not afraid to leave home, visit Poland as a part of a sports team with a short-term visa; from there, it takes Aleksei 8 days to France, illegally, he looks forward to becoming a member of the Foreign Legion. As a legionnaire, he will be a member of the militia, have resident status, can change his name and in five years, he may even have a French passport.
In Nigeria, oil resources are vanishing due to corrupt governments; the land has been devastated, the water polluted and there are constant threats for the villagers, and as time goes by it gets worse. The MEND (Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta) of which Jomo is a member, is defending the territory.
While visiting Nigeria, a small group of Frenchmen are taken as hostages by the MEND. Legionary men, Aleksei, among them, arrive to set them free. They witness the taking of a villa by the Nigerian army and ask for permission to provide help to civilians, they get no for answer since their mission is the liberation of the hostages.
At night, in a visually stunning scene, Aleksei and Jomo meet, and their destinies converge.
At the rhythm of drums, lighted by fire and neon, topics of immigration, ecology, racism, and survival, refer to ghostly presences and human willingness, in this highly recommended cinematic achievement that makes an artistic contribution to the history of cinema and has been awarded with the Silver Bear at the Berlinale in 2023.
