The Museum of Fine Arts kicked off its eighth year of the African Film Festival last Friday with the screening of Abderrahmane Sissako's latest release, "Bamako." Danny Glover, who acted in the film and produced it through his company Louverture, was present on opening night to answer questions and lead a discussion on the central themes of the movie. Glover decided to work with Sissako on "Bamako" because "It attempts to present the reality of what is happening to people, while at the same time clarifying the macroeconomic context that creates that reality," he said.
The nine-day event features two full-length and four short films from the African Film Festival National Traveling Series, a touring program designed to capture the best of the New York African Film Festival. The program coordinator at the MFA has also added three African films from other sources, including "Bamako," "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha" (2005) and "Daratt" (2006).
The MFA frequently showcases foreign and independent films in weeklong events with the goal of promoting lesser known filmmakers from around the world. Among others, the museum hosts an annual French Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival and Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. It is currently screening a series of music documentaries from Switzerland. Given the sometimes poor quality of recent big-budget Hollywood flicks and the limited amount of independent theatres in the Boston area, the MFA may be the perfect place for discouraged movie-goers.
Prior to the screening, the program director at the MFA warned the audience that "Bamako" was not an ordinary movie. The film follows no linear plot progression and hardly has any character development, which gives it the feel of a documentary. The characters and testimonies are all fictional, but evoke real life social and economic issues at the forefront of African politics.
The movie takes place in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and focuses mostly on a court trial that pits spokesmen from the African Civil Society against representatives from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The trial bears a striking similarity to the hearings that were occurred in some African countries ravaged by war and genocide.
In addition, Sissako includes various subplots designed to offer the viewer a look into ordinary life in the heart of African society. These interjections of African daily life switch up the polemic tone that dominates throughout the trial scenes. Mel?© (A'ssa Ma'ga) and Chaka (Ti?©coura Traor?©) struggle to keep their marriage intact, while another couple gets married. In the meantime, a man lies in his bed dying without any medical attention.
These minor stories may not seem to have much relevance to the main plot, but they do in fact parallel the themes of the film by showing the poverty and unemployment that plagues the streets. Sissako said, "I developed the secondary plots because I wanted the lives of the people living in the courtyard to echo or interfere with the speeches delivered at the court."
"Bamako" is the highlight of the African Film Festival, not only because of Danny Glover's guest appearance, but also due to the director's powerful injunction against the organization of the current world system. He explicitly denounces the international community's response to poverty and economic crisis in Africa. Sissako explained, "What drove me to make 'Bamako,' comes from my outlook on Africa, not the continent which is mine, but a zone of injustice which directly affects me."
Throughout most of the film, the audience watches various testimonies from African teachers, writers and lawyers that decry the devastating consequences of neo-colonialism and globalization. One after the other, they criticize the unequal distribution of wealth throughout the world and the dangers of unregulated capitalism in developing countries.
These testimonies point the blame at Western countries and international organizations that have perpetuated the vicious cycle of poverty by imposing a monstrous debt that is virtually impossible to pay back. The director makes it clear that the debt is responsible for the dismantlement of public transportation and the privatization of education and healthcare, making it much less accessible to a majority of the population. One witness in "Bamako" claims, "If you fall and you have no money, you're dead."
"Bamako" is an important film for its challenge to the foundations of the international capitalist system that sharply divides the globe into two poles of extreme wealth on one side and extreme destitution on the other. Sissako raises an issue that is often glossed over, making his arguments even more compelling. Unfortunately, after two hours of testimonies, the director's polemic diverges into strident attacks that damage the film's credibility and objectivity, because they ultimately provide no real solution to the problem.
The most moving testimonies come from the African witnesses that share their pain with the court, rather than the lawyers that provide logical arguments. In one particularly touching scene, an old man chants his attacks to the court in a local dialect, which aren't subtitled. Nonetheless, the audience knows exactly what he is trying to communicate because of the suffering in his voice. "Bamako" may not be a masterpiece, but it is a very original and impressive movie from a part of the world that tends to be ignored.
African Film Festival
Running until Feb. 25
Tickets are $8 for students
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Avenue
617-369-3306
