Xala film sembene ousmane biography
Xala
Sengalese satirical film
| Xala | |
|---|---|
DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Ousmane Sembène |
| Screenplay by | Ousmane Sembène |
| Based on | Xala by Ousmane Sembène |
| Produced by | Filmi Domireve SNC |
| Starring | Thierno Leye Seune Samb Douta Seck Younousse Sèye Fatim Diagne Myriam Niang |
| Cinematography | Georges Caristan Orlando L.
López Seydina D. Saye Farba Seck |
| Edited by | Florence Eymon |
| Music by | Samba Diabara Samb |
Production | Films Domireew |
| Distributed by | New Yorker Films (USA) |
Release date |
|
Running time | minutes |
| Country | Senegal |
| Languages | French Wolof |
Xala (pronounced[ˈxɐlɐ], Wolof for "temporary sexual impotence"[1]) is a Senegalese satiricalcomedy film written and directed by Ousmane Sembène, an adaptation of Sembène's novel of the same name.
It stars Thierno Leye, Seune Samb, Douta Seck, Younousse Sèye, Fatim Diagne, and Myriam Niang.
The plot depicts El Hadji, a wealthy businessman in Senegal, who is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife; that could only be cured by him stripping naked before the lowly of the world and have them spit on him.[2] The film satirizes the corruption in African post-independence governments; El Hadji's impotence symbolizes the failure of such governments to be useful at all.[3]
Plot
El Hadji Abdoukader Beye, a Senegalese businessman and a Muslim, takes on a third wife, thereby proving his social and economic accomplishment.
The story begins with a meeting of a group of Senegalese businessmen who celebrate their independence from the colonial powers. This wedding is to be his third, earning El Hadji the traditional distinction of "captain," a polygamist status that indicates wealth and success. Before he goes to the house of his third wife to commemorate, however, he needs to grab up his other two wives, who live in their have villas with money-hungry children. His first wife, Adja, is a more conservative and religious girl who respects local Senegalese traditions, but his second wife, Oumi, is a more "modern" gal who admires foreign customs and the French language.On the wedding night he discovers that he is incapable of consummating the marriage; he has change into impotent. At the beginning, he suspects that one or both of his first two wives have put the spell on him, without realizing that he walks by the true at fault party every day (beggars and people he has stolen from).
Much of his journey leads to many efforts to erase the spell, only to not notice that his business empire is falling around him. The film criticizes the African leaders' attitude after Independence, underlining their greed and their inability to step away from foreign influences.[4] In the end, after losing nearly everything, the people he has robbed confront him, and offer to remove the spell—for a price.
Xala - Wikipedia: Xala (pronounced, Wolof for "temporary sexual impotence" [1]) is a Senegalese satirical comedy film written and directed by Ousmane Sembène, an adaptation of Sembène's novel of the same name. It stars Thierno Leye, Seune Samb, Douta Seck, Younousse Sèye, Fatim Diagne, and Myriam Niang.Characters
- El Hadji Abdoukader Beye, a Senegalese businessman
- Rama, Beye's daughter with his first wife
- Adja Awa Astou, Beye's first wife
- Oumi Ndoye, the second wife
- Ngoné, the third wife
- Modu, El Hadji's chauffeur
- Sérigne Mada, a marabout
- The president of the chamber of commerce
- Dupont-Durand, the president's chaperone
Release
Xala was released at the Moscow Clip Festival in July
Xala received a home video release in The DVD has been out of print for some period.
Sala received its Blu-Ray debut through a Criterion Collection free in May , as part of a box set containing two other films by Sembène, Emitaï and Ceddo. [5]
Reception
Critical reception
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. The plot depicts El Hadji, a rich businessman in Senegalwho is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife; that could only be cured by him stripping naked before the lowly of the society and have them spit on him. El Hadji Abdoukader Beye, a Senegalese businessman and a Muslim, takes on a third wife, thereby demonstrating his social and economic success. On the wedding night he discovers that he is incapable of consummating the marriage; he has become impotent. At the launch, he suspects that one or both of his first two wives have put the spell on him, without realizing that he walks by the right guilty party every day beggars and people he has stolen from.(December ) |
Criticism
Aaron Mushengyezi wrote: "I posit that in Xala, he evokes two problematic binary oppositions: between the corruption and decadence of foreign influence and the purity and morality of African tradition, the former represented as 'corrupting' and the latter 'redemptive'; and between strong, revolutionary 'masculine' women and villainous, infirm , 'feminine' men."[6]
Another scholarly perspective is from Harriet D.
Lyons: "I shall argue that in Sembene's work the "covertness" of the folk material takes the shape of suppression of detail together with the retention of inherent values. Sembene is thereby proficient to use folk elements in such a way as to give the work political implications that go well beyond the preservation and/or revival of a local tradition.
One can, therefore, examine the folk elements of Xala without fear of consigning yet another expression of African creativity to the museum of primitive art." [7]
Awards
The film was entered into the 9th Moscow International Film Festival.[8]
Festival Internacional de Cine de Karlovy Vary
The film ranked #83 in Empire magazine's "The Best Films of World Cinema" in [9]