Bac ou Mariage

Reviewed by Jamie Stockholm-Berthe


This film starts with a poorly acted scene of a group of young Africans who are just about to find out whether or not they will receive their high school diploma. Those who do not pass the exam begin to console one another. Their consolations rapidly turn into a festive dance that lasts until we, as spectators, feel as relieved as do the teenagers dancing. This kind of catharsis reoccurs throughout the film, most often in the form of dance.

The story revolves around one of the young students in particular. At the age when she is beginning to forge her path as an individual, her parents still believe they know what is best for her. After passing her high school exams, she intends to pursue her studies elsewhere, but her father has arranged for her to be married to an elderly gentleman who practices polygamy. There are some very funny and touching scenes that ensue, but what strikes the viewer most are the dance scenes and the accompanied relief that comes with them. Very soon into the film the fact that it is poorly acted becomes irrelevant; in fact, it seems to lend weight to the truth of the characters that does seep through. This is ethno-fiction in its purest form

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