Le Nouveau Raz-de-Marée - A New Movement in French Cinema?
CW: Racism
Shannon O’Riordan
---- Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont ----
GENRE: Comedy, Drama
FAVOURITE QUOTE: « ‘faut vous défendre. Le prochain, vous lui cassez la gueule. »
FAVOURITE SCENE: Anne challenging the racist cows of the village (not a euphemism)
FILMS IT MIGHT REMIND YOU OF: Someone said that it had a similar ‘vibe’ to Les Choristes and since then I can’t think about it in any other way
RATING: * * * * * * (5.5/6)
Credit: Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont, Directed by Julien Rambaldi, performances by Marc Zinga, Aïssa Maïga, Médina Diarra, Bayron Lebli, 2016. E.D.I. Films, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80123740?source=35
Column V
If you are anything like me, those pesky Week 5 Blues hit HARD last week and just won’t go away; it would appear that a full (online) Cambridge term, plus the third lockdown in a year does not make for a happy student. And yet, with three weeks of term left, and at least three months to go until things in the UK resemble anything to normal, we must find a way to Keep Calm and Carry On and stay at least mildly sane. Of course, with both of these struggles, there is a light at the end of the tunnel - just today my sister received her COVID vaccine, and I’m on my last translation homework of term - but sometimes there is a sense of giving up and numbness that no amount of TikTok, ice cream and Schitt’s Creek can fix. So, in the spirit of manifesting this light at the end of the (extremely long) tunnel, I thought that I would choose a film that is a bit easier to watch than the very intense film I discussed in my last article, because we are all in need of a bit of a laugh.
The film I have chosen to review this week has been on my Netflix list for as long as I can remember and I just never got round to watching it. And, oh, how I wish I had watched it before now. Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont (for some reason titled The African Doctor on the UK Netflix - not sure I agree with that translation choice, but I’m getting away from the point!) is a 2016 French comedy-drama directed by Julien Rambaldi. It follows the life of Seyolo Zantoko (Marc Zinga), a man from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) who studies medicine in France and, in an attempt to escape his country’s corruption, takes a job as a doctor in a small, rural village in northern France, named Marly-Gomont. Seyolo brings his family - his wife Anne (Aïssa Maïga) and his two children Sivi (Médina Diarra) and Kamini (Bayron Lebli) - over from Zaire, and the film explores how the Zantoko family struggles to fit into their new (very racist) rural hometown, as they overcome professional and personal setbacks, and work out how to balance their Zairean origins and their new life in France.
La Famille arrive à Marly-Gomont
Credit: Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont, Directed by Julien Rambaldi, performances by Marc Zinga, Aïssa Maïga, Médina Diarra, Bayron Lebli, 2016. E.D.I. Films, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80123740?source=35
Interestingly, and very poignantly, the plot of this film is based on the true story of the real Seyolo Zantoko, whose son Kamini Zantoko (stage name: Kamini) is a famous French musician. Known for his music videos that depict life in rural France, Kamini’s first single, released in 2006, was called “Marly-Gomont’ and was based on his experience of growing up in the village with the same name as the son of the only Black family in the area. However, expressing his experience through the medium of rap was not enough, so Kamini co-wrote the script for Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont in order to share his family’s story with an even wider audience. This adds a very personal touch to the film, and I definitely think that knowing that the film is based on a true story (as the audience is told by the title card at the very beginning) adds another layer to the film that makes it all the more powerful.
It might also explain the overarching light-heartedness of the film, despite the very heavy topic; Kamini was just a child when he moved to Marly-Gomont (as seen in the film), which might explain the almost childish tone. I actually can’t remember the last time I had so many little chuckles to myself throughout a film, and I had a smile plastered on my face almost the whole time. Although the overall tone is generally very light, this does not mean that it diminishes the severity of the main theme: the brutal, overt racism that the Zantoko family face after moving into the village. In fact, I would argue the exact opposite: the humour and exaggerations of certain reactions are actually a way in which the film criticises the early response of the white locals, proving just how ridiculous their prejudices were. I tend to think that using humour is important when encouraging people to consider serious topics as it is often easier to absorb difficult topics while laughing. By introducing the topic in a very digestible way, the film provides food for further thought for the audience to consider once the film is over (for more on this approach to hard social questions, see my article on the film Je ne suis pas un homme facile).
Les gens du village Marly-Gomont
Credit: Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont, Directed by Julien Rambaldi, performances by Marc Zinga, Aïssa Maïga, Médina Diarra, Bayron Lebli, 2016. E.D.I. Films, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80123740?source=35
Some may critique the film for its approach, and if its plot were not based on a personal story - with a clear focus on the internal familial problems just as much as the racism the family faced in the village - I would be inclined to agree. But this film is not necessarily supposed to be a wider critique of the racism in “deep” (read: rural) French society, and instead is framed as a retelling of the personal experiences of one family. We see the family almost falling apart because of the racism they face, as they react to it in different ways: Seyolo tries to assimilate in the village as much as he can, and is almost ashamed of his Zairean roots and tries to hide them, his wife Anne is extremely homesick and tries to cling on to any cultural reminders of her homeland, and the children struggle to come to terms with the racism they are facing for the first time at school, and the difference in their parents’ reactions to the move. Despite the broader humorous tone, there are moments of real pain, sadness, and horror in the scenes which show specific moments of targeted racist abuse towards the family, and the film shows just how much the Zantokos are affected by it. The racism is not sugar-coated, it is not ignored, but it is presented in a way I have not really seen before. It is very effective and really makes the audience truly feel a connection with, and an admiration for, the Zantoko family.
In short, this film is absolutely bloody brilliant, and I cannot recommend it enough. My one critique? It’s the perfect example of the unnecessary inclusion of the most overused cinematic technique: the cyclical narrative. But, given the brilliant comedic timing, fabulous acting, very fitting soundtrack, insightful and original approach to a very tough topic, and so much more, I think on this occasion I can forgive the film for its use of a cinematic cliché or two. I am not exaggerating when I say that I genuinely think that this is a film I will rewatch again and again, and one that has already made its way into my top 10 favourite films. All that’s left to say is, please, do yourself a favour and watch it - you won’t regret it!