Atlantics made history as the first film directed by a black woman, French actress/director Mati Diop, to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival. It went on to win the Grand Prix, the second-most prestigious prize at Cannes. Diop’s debut film is a story told by an artist with a clear vision. With the tagline being, “Every love story is a ghost story,” this film is a more than a love story. It’s a film about grief and how those we love, as cliche as it sounds, never really leave us.
Set in Senegal, the story follows Ada (Mame Bineta Sane) and her lover, Souleiman (Ibrahima Traoré). Souleiman and his peers are denied their wages on a construction project for months. They leave Senegal by boat in search of a better future in Spain; without informing their lovers, and these girls are left behind. Ada is engaged to Omar (Babacar Sylla), and after an incident on their wedding night, becomes haunted by something otherworldly. Atlantics slowly builds to a powerful, tender ending.
African talent needs to be appreciated and uplifted. The performances by the main cast are all successful, but one actor who clearly stands out is Mame Bineta Sane as Ada. Her steady stare in the final shot is proof enough of her talents. Her nuanced performance throughout the film is incredible: how she idles in a state of misery after her love leaves, her anger at being mistreated on the basis of her gender, and how she whispers her love to Souleiman. Mame Bineta Sane is the true star of this film. Another stand-out performance is Nicole Sougou as Dior. Ada’s friend and confidant, she stands out as a sunglasses-toting bartender. She is solid in her views and opinions, and supports not only the fictional Ada, but also Mame Bineta Sane’s performance. How the characters dress and move feels natural, and is a testament to the work of the supporting cast.
Diop’s Director of Photography, Claire Mathon’s, cinematography is a stand-out in this film. Shots of unfinished construction and a burned mattress are framed wonderfully, to the point where they look like photography. Particularly how Mathon composes her images, how she allows the landscape to take up space and the actors to just exist on the screen. Mathon likes to hold her shots for a while, to the point where the audience notices. She lets her shots breathe, and it works for the most part. The shots look almost over-exposed, but it helps to create a unique look for the film and adds to the film tonally. The score also complements the film well, often pushing the audience to feel that something is not quite right. In particular, the way Diop shows the ocean is especially unique. Beyond it being a plot device, Diop creates a whole character out of the ocean.
Finally, this film is extremely relevant due to its worldview. While this film exists absent of white people and the colonial world, it does not exist outside of the forces creating the economically disadvantaged. The film begins with young men demanding overdue wages. The supernatural twist is in part due to this denial of fair wages, and is a cry for all economically downtrodden people. Diop’s female perspective is also instrumental to this story. The women of this story are called “mad” for being emotional, and are subjected to virginity tests and forced into marriages. But, from this abuse, comes a sense of female solidarity and empowerment. Dior carefully braids Ada’s hair, which represents a fundamental shift in Ada’s character. The women walk the streets at night barefoot in nightgowns, and as I was watching, I intrinsically felt scared for these girls being so exposed. These women are free, and Ada is free.
Atlantics is on Netflix now, and your 2019 watchlist is not complete without this film. Foreign films tend to be ignored, at worst tokenized. A film from Senegal has never been nominated for an Academy Award, and even worse, only three African films in the entire history of the Oscars have won for Best Foreign Film. The Academy Awards don’t mean everything in terms of the art of filmmaking, but they matter when it comes to pushing wider audiences to watch things they may have not been interested in before. As we approach awards season, you should be sure to pay attention to if Atlantics.
4/5 STARS