Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Alain Gomis's Félicité (2017) is exclusively playing December 9, 2017 - January 8, 2018 on Mubi in the United Kingdom. It has become something of a bitter joke to speak of “strong women” in film. Not because cinema has suddenly become flooded with portraits of a wide variety of women and we need not point out the lack of such roles anymore, but because the idea is so basic it’s almost dehumanizing to ask for. The underlying plea is: write a character that’s complex, contains multitudes, has or fights for their agency. Write a human, please. The idea also has become simplistically defined, where “strong” is reduced to physical strength or the ability to bear endless suffering. In this way, strong becomes defined by a status quo “masculine” norm: the formula enshrined since the likes of Odysseus, the epic hero getting it done on their own.
- 12/18/2017
- MUBI
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu plays a mother scratching a living in the Congolese capital in Alain Gomis’s dramatic, compassionate study
Franco-Senegalese film-maker Alain Gomis has created a film portrait in an ambient social-realist style, showing us a woman called Félicité: a bar singer in the tough streets of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gomis leaves it up to us to determine the precise level of irony in her name.
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu is a formidable presence as Félicité, a single mum of a tearaway teen boy Samo (Gaetan Claudia), for whom she must stay strong. She is scratching a living with her music, evidently bruised and humbled by the reverses of her life, drifting into a relationship with Tabu (Papi Mpaka), the boozy, unreliable guy who once came to repair her fridge.
Continue reading...
Franco-Senegalese film-maker Alain Gomis has created a film portrait in an ambient social-realist style, showing us a woman called Félicité: a bar singer in the tough streets of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gomis leaves it up to us to determine the precise level of irony in her name.
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu is a formidable presence as Félicité, a single mum of a tearaway teen boy Samo (Gaetan Claudia), for whom she must stay strong. She is scratching a living with her music, evidently bruised and humbled by the reverses of her life, drifting into a relationship with Tabu (Papi Mpaka), the boozy, unreliable guy who once came to repair her fridge.
Continue reading...
- 11/9/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
‘Félicité’ Exclusive Trailer: A Congolese Bar Singer Races Against The Clock To Save Her Teenage Son
Alain Gomis’ new film “Félicité” follows the eponymous character, a proud singer living in the Congo city of Kinshasa, who leaves the world behind every time she sets foot on a bar stage. But one day Félicité’s son is involved in a terrible motorcycle accident, and she’s forced to traverse the impoverished streets and the wealthier districts of the city to raise the funds necessary for his operation. She soon enlists the help of bar regular Tabu (Papi Mpaka) who soon becomes a part of her life, helping her as well as her son. Watch an exclusive trailer for the film below.
Read More: Berlinale 2016’s Complete Competition Lineup Announced: Only 9% Directed By Women
This is Gomis’ fourth feature film. His first film “L’Afrance,” about young Senegalese men who faces residency issues while living in Paris, won the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. Then came his next film “Andalucia,...
Read More: Berlinale 2016’s Complete Competition Lineup Announced: Only 9% Directed By Women
This is Gomis’ fourth feature film. His first film “L’Afrance,” about young Senegalese men who faces residency issues while living in Paris, won the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. Then came his next film “Andalucia,...
- 2/2/2017
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
After Sundance Film Festival concludes in late January, the next big cinematic event on the globe is the Berlin International Film Festival. With Paul Verhoeven serving as jury president for the 67th edition of the festival, they’ve now announced their first line-up of titles, including Aki Kaurismäki‘s The Other Side of Hope (pictured above), Oren Moverman‘s Richard Gere-led The Dinner, Sally Potter‘s The Party (pictured below), and Agnieszka Holland‘s Spoor, as well as a restoration of a Rainer Werner Fassbinder TV show.
Check out the first titles below, and return for our coverage from the festival.
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul)
Hungary
By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour
Romania/Germany/France
By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti,...
Check out the first titles below, and return for our coverage from the festival.
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul)
Hungary
By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour
Romania/Germany/France
By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti,...
- 12/15/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.