Quelque part vers Conakry 1992

Quelque part vers Conakry 1992
1h 18min | Drama | 16 June 1993 (France)

Storyline:

1971: Guinea, thirteen years after independence. A revolutionary storm is brewing on the streets of the city of Fria. Somewhere near Conakry – Children play, far from the adults’ worries. The gigantic land stretches from the savanna to the marshes. In this mosaic of people in conflict, Jacques leads his warriors though an Africa that has been torn apart, where only children and the elderly have kept a innocent look in their eyes. Beyond the taboos and laws governing the country, Jacques and Madiou, the little African boy, will experience the trial of friendship and parting.

User review:

A decade after the end of the colonial era in French Guinea, revolution is brewing. We experience the drama as it unfolds, seen through the eyes of a few children.

We meet Jacques, a white French lad whose father has an important job, and his friend, Madiou, a smart black Guinea boy. The revolutionaries exert great pressure on blacks working for whites. Terrified villagers watch as ‘counter-revolutionary’ blacks are executed. Madiou, who attended a ‘white’ school, is prevented from continuing his studies at that school. Many whites are talking about moving back to France. How would this affect our two friends?

The effect of the end of colonial rule in African countries, on kids from both sides of the political, racial and social spectrum, has been presented in other films. The excellent ‘Cartouches Gauloises’ (‘Summer of ’62’), depicting the major political changes in Algeria comes to mind. In Guinea the divide in the lifestyles of the ‘colonial’ white French and more traditional indigenous black community is stark, more accentuated. And this is what makes ‘Quelque part vers Conakry’ different; the potential for conflict is so much greater.

I found the acting good, although not outstanding. The cinematography, however, is imaginative and a feast for the eye.

This film is definitely worth watching.

Director: Françoise Ebrard
Writer: Françoise Ebrard
Stars: Damien MacDonald, Ibrahim Oury Bah, Pascal N’Zonzi
Country of origin: France
Language: French
Also known as: Somewhere Near Conakry