Twist in Bamako | The price of freedom ★★★

In 1962, while Mali was enjoying its newly acquired independence and the young people of the country danced all night long to the twist from France and America, a young man living the revolutionary ideal fell in love with a young married girl from strength.

Marc-Andre Lussier
The Press

We may at first be surprised by Robert Guédiguian’s choice to delve into the history of an African country, but Twist in Bamako finally falls logically into the approach of a filmmaker who has all humanisms at heart. He who, in his cinema, told Marseille so well (from Last summer until Gloria Mundi Passing by Marius and Jeanette) evokes this time his own youth, even through the tragic story of a young couple living in a territory located more than 5000 km from the Marseille city.

The desire for freedom, the idealism of a fairer and more equitable world, the impression of being able to change the world are values ​​universally shared by those who experienced their adolescence in the early 1960s. was also the case in Mali, a country then freshly freed from the French colonial influence, even if the weight of traditions still weighed very heavily, especially outside urban centers, where people were not yet twisting their hips on the frenzied hits of ‘Eddie Mitchell and Chuck Berry as we could do in Bamako.

To echo this particular energy, Robert Guédiguian has chosen to follow the story of a luminous couple, made up of Samba (Stéphane Bak in a leading role), a young activist invested with the revolutionary socialist message, and Lara (Alice Da Luz, a newcomer), a young girl who fled her countryside, where she was forced to marry. Thanks to their naturalness and their magnetism, the two actors hold the thread of this feature film that is sometimes too didactic, whose demonstrative aspect is sometimes too strong, and which, no doubt, would have benefited from being tightened up.

Filmed in Senegal (it was impossible for the team to settle in Mali), Twist in Bamako will not be a milestone in the work of Robert Guédiguian. That said, there is reason to appreciate this fervor in wanting to tell the world of yesterday in an attempt to better understand that of today, with which the filmmaker also draws parallels.

Twist in Bamako is currently showing.

Drama

Twist in Bamako

Robert Guediguian

With Alice Da Luz, Stephane Bak, Saabo Balde

2:09 a.m.

★★★