Emitaï
| Emitaï | |
|---|---|
 French poster | |
| Directed by | Ousmane Sembène |
| Written by | Ousmane Sembène |
| Starring | Robert Fontaine |
| Cinematography | Michel Remaudeau |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Countries | France Senegal |
| Languages | Wolof French |
Emitaï ([ɛ.mi.ta.i], name of a Diola deity) is a 1971 Senegalese drama film directed by Ousmane Sembène.[1]
Plot[edit]
During World War II, the Vichy government conscripts men from France's colonies. A revolt breaks out in a Diola village where the women hide the rice crop harvest instead of submitting to the French tax. Diola leaders debate the best response to increasingly harsh French policies, and the situation becomes more urgent when the French and their colonial troops fire on Diola resisters. The Diola attempt to consult their gods, including the titular Emitaï, but the standoff with the French only intensifies. Soon, posters of Charles de Gaulle replace posters of Vichy's Marshal Pétain, reflecting the changing balance of power in French West Africa. This sudden political shift, however, does not change the situation at the village level, and colonial forces ultimately carry out a massacre of the Diola men. [2]
Cast[edit]
- Robert Fontaine as Commandant
- Michel Remaudeau as Lieutenant
- Pierre Blanchard as Colonel
Title[edit]
Emitai derives its name from a Senegalese god, "who represents the passage from one stage of life to a new and better one".[3]
Release[edit]
Emitai was released in Senegal in 1971,[4] and in 1972 in the United States.[3] It was censored for five years in French-speaking Africa.[2] The film was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Silver Prize.[5]
Reception[edit]
In his Family Guide to Movies on Video, Henry Herx wrote that "much of the story is told solely through its expressive images, and these visuals are the great strength of the movie".[3]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Ousmane Sembene – In Memoriam". harvard. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b Hornaday, Ann (2 February 1998). "Senegal films are eloquent Movies: Ousmane Sembene's powerful 'Emitai' and 'Ceddo' play at the Orpheum". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ a b c Herx, Henry (1988). "Emitai". The Family Guide to Movies on Video. The Crossroad Publishing Company. p. 85 (pre-release version). ISBN 0-8245-0816-5.
- ^ Pfaff, Françoise (2004). Focus on African Films. Indiana University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0-253-21668-0. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "7th Moscow International Film Festival (1971)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
External links[edit]
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- 1971 films
- 1971 drama films
- Senegalese drama films
- French drama films
- Wolof-language films
- 1970s French-language films
- Films directed by Ousmane Sembène
- Films set in 1943
- Films set in 1944
- Anti-war films about World War II
- Films set in the French colonial empire
- Films set on the French home front during World War II
- 1970s French films
- Works about France in World War II
- Vichy France in fiction
- African film stubs
- Senegal stubs