Ramata

In this studied adaptation of a novel by Abasse Ndione, Leandre Alain Baker boldly attempts to unite style and content by concentrating his film forcefully on the bewitching presence of Katoucha Niane (who tragically died after the film’s shooting was completed), well known as a fashion model and whose ambiguous and brooding presence the film pointedly emulates. Her Ramata is a striking woman in her fifties who lives in an elegant neighbourhood of Dakar, married to a Minister of Justice with whom she is preparing to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary. But she is forced to confront this unsatisfactory image of herself when she meets a mysterious hustler free of all attachments, named Ngor Ndong. One may ask why Ramata chooses to turn her back on her ideal life as well as the honour of her husband and family. Not giving an answer, the film weaves a more complex pattern that reveals another side of the seemingly free-spirited hustler.

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