Burkina Faso: Tasuma/Sia (2004/2001)
It became clear quite quickly that much of Africa was going to be an issue for me. I faced three distinct problems:
1. I need a film on disc
2. I need subtitles
3. I am not in Africa
Nearly all countries in Africa have made a film, so that wasn’t going to be an issue. Actually getting my hands on a disc was going to be the problem, because not all of them have been released for home viewing, and those that have don’t necessarily have distribution networks that see them sold overseas. Importing from Africa isn’t guaranteed either (certainly not on a budget) because international postage can be very expensive. Lastly, but by no means least, I need subtitles, because there are a lot of languages in Africa.
Then I discovered ArtMattan. A boutique label based in New York, ArtMattan specialise in African films and bringing them to a wider audience. I stumbled on them quite by chance while looking for Daratt, because it happened to be in a double set with The Desert Ark in Great African Films Volume 3. Clearly if there was a Volume 3 there would be more, so I started tracking them down. (There are 5, and I was delighted when I realised they covered some of the most awkward countries on the list. True, I don’t need all five volumes, but I’m a completist, so there was no way I was only buying three or four of them and not all.)
ArtMattan’s website helpfully lists many more titles, and it’s been something of a lifeline for Africa for me.
Great African Films Volume 2 offers two films from Burkina Faso: Tasuma The Fighter and Sia – Dreams of the Python.
They are markedly different films, but pleasingly they both offer detailed insights into life in the country.
Tasuma is an Ealingesque tale of an everyday man making a stand against authority and mindless bureaucracy. Tasuma is owed a military pension because he fought overseas for France, the former colonial power of Burkina Faso. He’s not getting it. He has also made a promise to his village for which he needs the money, so he makes a stand. Complications ensue.
It’s a deceptively simplistic tale, but rich in details that make life in his village clear. It’s also not only a genuinely charming character piece but also one that tells us a great deal about wider society in Burkina Faso. I called it Ealingesque because like classic Ealing films it tells a gentle story which hides a biting satirical edge; here real issues are being covered gently, and sometimes gentle probing can reveal more about a society than an issue-led examination.
Even though African village life may not initially appear relatable, the situation and characters are, as are the difficulties they face, and I enjoyed it very much.
Sia – Dreams of the Python is markedly different. An historical drama (the period is never made clear but seems to be somewhere in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, to me anyway) in which a young woman (Sia) is chosen to be sacrificed to a local god due to failing harvests. As her father is going to be compensated for his loss by being given his daughter’s weight in gold he swiftly accepts his daughter’s fate on her behalf (women in this film have very little agency, but that’s part of the point), despite his wife being understandably upset. Sia is not entirely happy with the idea and runs off, to everyone’s surprise (because the men here are amazed that a woman wouldn’t want to be sacrificed. The fact that it’s to a snake makes me wonder if there’s even more going on here than the film is willing to acknowledge openly).
Chaos ensues (literally – Sia’s actions have repercussions) and the film as a whole proves to be an unusual study of gender politics, power, abuse and blind faith. The film is doing a lot of heavy lifting, but at no point does it become obvious, weighty or message driven. I respect that, a lot. I’ve seen big-budget films attempt it and fail, so a lower-budget film from a small country managing to do it, and do it well, is a pleasing (and Ealingesque!) triumph of the underdog.
Great fun!
Disc: DVD (Region 1, USA)
Source: eBay
Availability: Still available; buy direct here