Screen/Society--2016 African Film Festival--"Faat Kine"

Film Screening: "Faat Kine" (Ousmane Sembene, 2001, 121 min, Senegal, in French and Wolof w/ English subtitles, Color, DVD) / A cheerful movie of simple pleasures, "Faat Kine" stars Venus Seye as the movie's eponymous heroine. Kine is the successful manager of a gasoline station in Dakar, and an unmarried mother of two, each the product of a failed relationship with a delinquent father. Independent, well-to-do, and equable, Kine flits between the demands of her job, her family and her friends with admirable composure. The movie follows Kine's activities with an unobtrusive eye, capturing matter-of-factly the eventfulness of daily life. Confrontations punctuate her relatively comfortable existence, from a tearful quarrel with her restive daughter to a roadside spat with a woman who accuses her of having an affair with her husband. Amid the bustle of Kine's day-to-day routine, the movie offers wistful flashbacks that explain Kine's complex but happy situation. The movie ends on a triumphant note at a party thrown by Kine for her son and daughter, where a climactic meeting between her son and his father offers an explicit glimpse into Sembene's outlook on Senegal's past and future. /--"A marvelous film, offering the psychological insight of Rohmer into its familial story, while contextualising it with a wise, vibrant African optimism all Sembène's own." -- Time Out / Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oeWt6TobT4 / NB: This 1st African screening is the only one in Griffith