Black Girl / Borom Sarret
by Ousmane Sembene
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anne-Marie Jelinek, Ibrahima Boy, Mbissine Th?r?se Diop, Momar Nar Sene, Robert FontaineDirector: Ousmane Sembene
Cinematographer: Christian Lacoste
Writer: Ousmane Sembene
Editor: Andr? Gaudier
Producer: Andr? Zwoboda
Audio: French (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: New Yorker Video
Movie Reviews of Black Girl / Borom Sarret
Movie Review: frustrating
Summary: 4 Stars
I had a lot of trouble with this one. I spent most of the movie wanting to scream at the main characters to communicate with each other. I guess the point is that they simply weren't in a position where they could do that.
The end also seemed way too extreme in the context of the rest of the movie. I get that Diouana was depressed, but I was expecting her to walk out with the cash and the mask and go live her own life, difficult as that would have been. She was so determined and resourceful when looking for a job, and confident enough to ignore her boyfriend's disapproval and head off to France practically alone. The bathtub scene came out of nowhere.
Perhaps we were meant to sympathize with Diouana over the others, but I found myself feeling sorry for both women. And the kids. And the husband (though less so), since he was just a man of the times and so obviously clueless about what was happening to his family.
The wife clearly felt terribly trapped. Here she was in France, supposedly on vacation, and yet if not for Diouana, she would have been the servant. Spending the entire time bringing coffee to her husband whenever he plonked himself down at the table with the paper, doing endless household chores, looking after the kids. She could be kind to her staff in Senegal because her position was secure, but in France, it was either her or Diouana. She was flawed and ignoble and sometimes cruel, but she was understandable.
The husband. Well. Completely clueless.
And Diouana? Why didn't she talk! If she'd just once said what she was thinking, things might have turned out differently. The couple weren't so awful that they couldn't have understood at least a little of how she felt.
Perhaps the ending was necessary. I heard about this movie because it's apparently quite famous. Would it have been as famous without the shocking ending? But I still don't think it did Diouana justice.
The only way I can make sense of it is to see Diouana's time in France as many years artificially compressed down into a few weeks. If I think of it that way, I guess I admire the movie a lot more. The couple weren't monsters, they were just trapped, ordinary people, but their treatment of Diouana as a non-person was quite unbearable. Living with that for long enough really can drive a person mad.
I'm not sure everyone realizes how much impact this kind of treatment has, year after year. Especially when it's subtle, hard to pin down, and easy to justify. If that's what the director was going for, then he has my respect, even if he didn't quite hit the mark with this movie.
Summary of Black Girl / Borom Sarret
Studio: New Yorker Films Video Release Date: 11/22/2005 Run time: 80 minutesDiouana (Mbissine Th?r?se Diop) is a stranger in a strange land. In Dakar, she was a nanny--a job she found fulfilling--but is forced to leave when her employers, Madame (Anne-Marie Jelinek) and Monsieur (Robert Fontaine), relocate to Antibes. The Riviera is lovely, but she is demoted to maid and regularly reminded of her exotic origins--treated as an object and exploited for her "Africanness." Proud and impassive, Diouana rarely speaks, but a running monologue reveals her growing disillusionment. "The kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, the living room. That's all I do. That's not what I came to France for!" So Diouana revolts the only way she knows how and stops doing everything for which she was taken from Senegal--cooking, cleaning, etc. Based on his short story, in turn inspired by actual events, Black Girl was the first feature from Ousmane Semb?ne (Faat Kin?), the premier filmmaker of Sub-Saharan Africa. Though shot in a crude new wave style, the 60-minute film (also released in a 70-minute edition), effectively delineates the life of an unseen individual with no means of solace or escape. Interestingly, all parts were dubbed by other actors, contributing to the sense of alienation--even between Madame and Monsieur, who were also happier in Dakar. Black Girl (La Noire de...) is accompanied by Semb?ne's 1963 debut, Borom Sarret. The 20-minute short offers an insightful look at a day in the life of a Dakar-based horse-cart driver (Ly Abdoulaye) or borom sarrett (from the French bonhomme charret). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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