La Vie Est
Belle was an interested film to view.
Examined through my own cultural view it has the making of a romantic
comedy but there are serious messages being displayed which are covered with a
gold film. Juxtapositions of happiness
and solemnity are peppered throughout the film from beginning to end. The movie opens joyfully; Kourou comes upon a group of
villagers and he inspires the crowd to sing with him. But this idyllic moment is cut short as soon
as a rickety, treacherous truck rolls by blaring more modern music from its
speakers. Then his homemade instrument
is broken while strangers laugh at his misfortune. More of the comedy comes
later in the film when Kourou’s boss attempts to woo Kabibi with tactics of
street harassment. He follows her in his
car, catcalls her and harasses her until she gets in, but he is such a bumbling
character that the situation conveys both the ridiculous nature of what is
occurring while causing unease in my Western mind at the thought of getting
into a car with a strange man.
There were
many aspects of this film that I could laugh at but still felt uncomfortable
with. For example, Nvouandou’s dance to fix his impotency is amusing, but
knowing that at the end of his performance he will perform in another way with
Kabibi was very unsettling. It was
unsettling because of how accepted it was in that society. So many things occurred in this film that I
could not imagine seeing in the United States.
Kabibi’s friend attacking Mamou at her own house, the midget kebab
seller, Kabibi’s mother sending her off to a
man- it was all very different from my experience as a young woman.
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