Washington, DC — Bamako, a film set in that city, is a complex and ingenious production dealing with Africa's relationship with the West.
The film is the creation of Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, who grew up in Mali and has been making films since the early 1990s. It includes cameos by U.S. actor and activist Danny Glover (also the executive director), French director Jean-Henri Roger, Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, and Sissako himself. The cameos appear in a film within the film where the directors star as cowboys in a parody of the American western – just one part of the formula that adds to the film's ingenuity.
The film's interweaving story lines form the backdrop of its main focus, a show trial in which Africans serve as the plaintiffs in a trial of crimes committed against "African society" by the West, the IMF & the World Bank. During the trial witnesses come forward to testify on the impact of debt, loans, and the social programs attached to the loans. The economic relationship between the World Bank, the IMF and African leaders is blamed for many of the social and economic problems facing Africans.
Witnesses address the lack of adequate health care and education in Africa, and the levels of poverty in which the majority of Africans live. African governments are accused of often being, at most, corrupt and at least complicit in the implementation of the failed neo-liberal economic programs, privatization schemes, and structural adjustment programs that have benefited only Western nations and the continent's elite.
The immigration problems facing Western nations are said to be the result of failed policies that have created economic refugees who flee Africa in large numbers. The film includes a witness who tells of a harrowing trek across the Sahara and into Morocco in search of better economic opportunities.
The film also features a cast of European and African characters who debate the validity of witness testimonies and challenge the accusations of the plaintiffs. The defense brings out the issue of misappropriation of funds as well as examples of Africans benefiting from Western aid.
The film moves between documentary and fiction as its symbolic battle between African society and the West is played out in sometimes comedic form. Its weighty topics are lightened by the location of the trial in the courtyard of someone's house, in the poor neighborhood of Hamdallaye. Throughout proceedings there are constantly people coming and going, as well as secondary story lines of characters who are only indirectly involved. Scenes include children of the families in the compound walking about, families fetching water, the gun of a security guard going missing, and even a wedding procession.
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The main subplot of the film centers on two residents of the house, Melé and her husband Chaka. Melé sings in a bar, while her husband is out of work. The couple's story is uniquely woven into the film, and could in itself be a whole separate film.
All of the activities and subplots add layers and depth to the film in way that makes this project unique. The complexity, while sometimes a struggle to follow, makes the film multi-dimensional. The activities and secondary storylines, perhaps most of all, symbolize the fact that while politicians and scholars debate Africa, the daily routine and realities of African lives are unchanging.
Bamako has received much critical acclaim and accolades, including winning Best French-Language Film at the Lumiere Awards in France in 2007.
Bamako (2006)
1 Hour 58 Minutes in French and Bambara with English subtitles
Written, Directed and Produced by Abderrahmane Sissako
The film's Website: http://www.bamako-film.com
The film can be purchased by contacting the U.S. distributor New Yorker Films at 1-877-645-1700.
