African Film Fest

Clouds Over Conakry

Il Va Pleuvoir Sur Conakry (Guinea-France)

By RONNIE SCHEIB

A COP Films (France)/Les Films Djoliba (Guinea) production, with the assistance of Union Europeenne, Fonds Sud Cinema, Fonds Images Afrique, l'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Produced by Annabel Thomas, Mariama Camara. Directed, written by Cheick Fantamady Camara.
 
With: Alex Ogou, Moussa Keita, Tella Kpomahou, Jeannot Coker, Fifi Dalla Kouyate, Fatoumata Diawara, Abdoulaye Diallo, Rouguiatou Camara, Kade Seck.
(French, Malinke dialogue)
 

Guinean helmer Cheick Fantamady Camara's impressive debut feature proposes a romantic twist on the standby theme of African cinema, traditionalism vs. modernism, as a lovestruck cartoonist learns the spirits have chosen him instead of his religious older brother to succeed his father as imam of Guinea's capital, Conakry. Camara effortlessly steers "Clouds" as it suddenly veers from relaxed near-comedy to stark tragedy. Engrossing, well-constructed pic, winner of the audience prize at FESPACO, should see brisk fest play, while the wryly engaging characterizations could help snare a cable berth.

BB (Alex Ogou) works as a political cartoonist at a liberal newspaper, his more outrageous efforts duly appreciated but not necessarily published by his boss (Abdoulaye Diallo). BB is in love with the boss' lovely, talented computer-scientist daughter, Kesso (Tella Kpomahou). But his choice meets with stiff opposition from his strict Muslim father Karamako (veteran thesp Moussa Keita), who is the chief of his village as well as imam of Conakry, especially when Kesso becomes pregnant with BB's child. Karamako's dream-inspired insistence that BB go to Saudi Arabia to study to become an imam, against the young man's wishes, further complicates the relationship.

Camara limns the two lovers' respective clans in succinct, concisely flowing strokes. In Kesso's compact modern family, her mother (Fifi Dalla Kouyate) runs a travel agency, and the conversation at the lively breakfast table is free-wheeling and contentious. BB's very different extended kinfolk include his father's three, progressively younger wives, plus assorted, progressively younger offspring, all ruled over by the imperiously patriarchal Karamako.

Karamako initially appears less rigid and fanatical than his eldest son Amine (Jeannot Coker), who harangues and beats his sister for her worldly ways. Ultimately, however, the strain of upholding tribal and Muslim law drives Karamako to undreamt-of extremes in the name of clan purity, his inability to adapt as tragic as it is destructive.

Camara infuses the conventions of popular African cinema with warmth and depth. Though the tone is tartly tongue-in-cheek when Karamako's wives go on strike to support BB and his girl, refusing to cook meals or to service their husband in any way until he accepts Kesso into the family, the Lysistrata ploy never becomes farcically broad.

Secondary characters, such as BB's singer ex-girlfriend, who still carries a torch for him, or Kesso's shop-owner aunt, the official mediator of familial disputes, are fully drawn and well-thesped, adding to the fully peopled milieu in which the star-crossed lovers circulate. Secondary plots, like Kesso's entry into the Miss Guinea contest, take on playful twists of their own while still staying thoroughly interwoven with the main intrigue.

Helmer Camara never oversimplifies the emotional complexities of the situation, particularly the difficulty of remaining connected to the present and to a divided cultural heritage. Pic's climax comes as a shock to all.

Tech credits are pro.

Camera (color), Robert Millie; editing, Joelle Dufour; music, Ismael Sy Savane; set designer, Conakry-Maneah; sound (DTS Stereo), Marc Nouriegat. Reviewed at African Film Festival, New York, April 11, 2007. (Also in Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougu.) Running time: 113 MIN.