What’s up?! I’m Marlon and this is Of The Mice. This video is part of the FIFA World Cup Special Series, in which we review one movie from each country playing the competition. This episode’s movie comes from Senegal. Let’s talk about Atlantics, directed by Mati Diop.
Some rich cunt is building a super-futuristic tower, but he’s not paying the workers for months.
One of these workers is Souleiman (played by Ibrahima Traoré), a young man who’s in love with Ada (played by Mame Sane), who’s promised to a rich man in an arranged marriage.
The couple sets up a date night, but before Ada could arrive, Souleiman is gone. He and his coworkers had sailed to Europe to get a job and money to survive. Time passes without news from the young workers, and Ada’s wedding day arrives. However, something mysterious happens, preventing the wedding and starting an investigation by the detective Issa (played by Amadou Mbow), who’ll have the vanished Souleiman as prime suspect.
I swear I didn’t previously select only movies I liked for this series, but Atlantics is another excellent movie.
To begin with, the film is an outstanding construction. A captivating love story serves as foreground to a narrative of exploitation of work leading to a dangerous migration and later to a ghost story. Everything is well-rounded and smooth, without getting convoluted.
The flow and pace are the lowlight of this movie, and to be honest, the only one I can think of. Sometimes, the movie takes too long in a single shot, like shots of the waves, or the face of Souleiman while his workmates sing in the background.
I realize these shots are there to convey something, like a meaning or an emotion. But since I was trying so hard to convince my brain of it, I don’t think these scenes worked for me.
The film centralizes in three characters, but Ada is the main one. She carries the movie, while the two guys share the supporting role. Even so, they’re not the supporting characters I like the most.
Dior (played by Nicole Sougou) is the most interesting supporting character, literally supporting Ada with sensibility throughout her journey. Later, the other women step up, making the two lads even more obfuscated, but still fundamental, of course.
The acting is all good, very believable and minimalistic. There’s no overacting. Mame Sane is excellent, with a delicate performance and even Amadou Mbow, who has to portray a guy going through a “sickness”, doesn’t over do it.
Another element of interest is the cinematography. I think it was quite nice, but I didn’t love it. There are great things, like establishing shots of the city with the infamous tower in the background so much taller than anything else.
The sets and clothing are also great visual elements. The colorful clothes contrast with the monochromatic surroundings. We see this especially in Ada’s almost wedding.
Atlantics is a beautiful film. It has some problems with flow and pace, but that’s minor. Everything else is positive, and despite the fantastic element, the movie is very realistic and heartbreaking because of it. I cannot recommend it further. I’ll give Atlantics 4 out of 5.
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