Kino immer anders
Humming buses, hustle and bustle on the streets and loud street music – Dakar literally vibrates. Mambéty pulls us into the action of the Dakar in the late 1960s. A time immediately after the colonization of France. People don’t seem to have much. So does a boy who likes to cheat his business partners. Due to his immoral behavior, he is targeted by a somewhat plump police officer. However, the rebellious boy does not make it easy for the police officer. The two characters are driven through the city in a cat-and-mouse game.
Dakar becomes the scene of a moral story that offers much more than Chaplinesque comedy. The hustle and bustle on the streets is not only an adventure for the two characters, but also for us viewers thanks to a precise and speedy editing, visual flair and a lively soundscape. The urban subculture is celebrated and the state is parodied in the same breath. Mambéty’s masterpiece has recently been restored, so the film can now be enjoyed in the best quality. We are showing it alongside City of Contrasts, a fictional short documentary by the same director about the cultural contrasts within the city of Dakar.
Olivia Sacker
