Le prix du pardon

Le prix du pardon is based on a novel by Mbissane Ngom who, like film-maker Wade, comes from the coast of Senegal, where the story is set. Ngom based his story on the oral narrative traditions of his people and Le prix du pardon is a film equivalent of this. Respect for this oral tradition made Wade choose a narrator and a mixture of everyday and supernatural events.The visual style of Wade’s feature début transcends folklore and couleur locale, and is above all functional, with a sharp eye for symbolic detail. For instance, the garish patterns usually seen on African material were not chosen for the costumes, but plain material with eloquent colours. A fishing village on the south coast of Senegal lives in fear because of a strange cloud of mist that hangs above the village. As a result, the fishing boats on which the whole village depends economically cannot set sail. When the young Mbanik makes them disappear, he is the village hero. As a result, he can at last declare his love for Maxoye. Yatma (Humbert Koundé), Mbanik’s childhood friend, is crazy with jealousy at Mbanik’s prestige and his relationship with Yatma and, in a fit of rage, he kills him. He briefly manages to remain unpunished and is even allowed to marry Maxoye. However Maxoye is pregnant with Mbanik’s baby, a child that Yatma will have to raise a great humiliation.