Red-Barracuda Two young people attempt to escape the poverty of their native Senegal and move to Paris. They raise some funds by committing petty crimes.Touki Bouki is a very distinctive film that's for sure. The African continent hasn't been renowned for producing a great deal of important movies but this one certainly qualifies as such. It has a pretty basic story-line but it's not a plot-driven affair at all really. In actual fact it is quite experimental in approach much of the time and seems to have been influenced by the European New Wave films quite a bit. But what gives it its edge is that within that it is very specifically Senegalese. It's not often we see much from this part of the world represented in cinema, especially not from over forty years ago and certainly rarely from actual Senegalese film-makers. It's this Senegalese colour and authenticity, combined with the bold experimental cinematic presentation that makes this one very much stand out. In truth, I don't think I fully appreciated all its nuances on first viewing and would certainly like to return to it sometime in the future. Be warned though, it does contain some pretty brutal scenes of animal slaughter which make for difficult viewing. All-in-all though, this unusual film has a great deal of character and its strong sense of location makes for fascinating viewing.

xWRL There's a lot going on in this movie--including even a plot. But it's hard to make any sense of it. You have to give the filmmaker and actors the benefit of the doubt. It's so excellently shot technically and everyone seems to be having such fun, it very likely is the exact movie that the cast and crew intended to make. But the overall impression is of a self-indulgent farce in which we the viewers are not in on the joke.Even taken as a superficial jumble of beautiful, technically perfect images--and that's pretty much what I was able to take away from this movie--the film is a letdown because it could have been so much more fresh, satirical, and fun than it is.

fallingtrees It may be an old film, but I had to switch off after the first 30 minutes. There seemed to be horrific scenes of animal slaughter every so often for no real reason. It was horrible.No explanation, no real plot flow, very confusing, strange camera angles, repeated scenes, and too much pretentious symbolism. There were some parts of it that had real promise and made me giggle, but after a while I just gave up. Something was lacking. Something was lost in translation.So again a warning - scenes of barbaric animal slaughter. We're talking PETA video style images OK, stuff you should be OK with as a meat eater, but usually people are not.

trpuk1968 I recently showed this film to a group of students so what follows is a condensed version of the worksheet I gave them. The questions I give hopefully can assist others in making meaning from the film.Touki Bouki can best be made sense of in the following way: It operates through allusion and symbolism. Through the story of two young lovers, Mory and Fanta, clashing with the older generation, yearning to leave for Paris, Mambety puts on screen his vision of a country where the weight of thousands of years of tradition collides head on with the modernity of a newly emergent Senegal.Allusion...an implied or indirect reference hinting at something Symbol...something that stands for something else...something concrete that represents or suggests another thing that cannot in itself be represented or visualised...for example a lion symbolises courageThink about what you have seen (and heard!) in the film, paying special attention to: Mory's motorbike – what is it decorated with? What do those objects remind you of? Fanta ties it to a tree, in the midst of a herd of cows...is there a connection to the cows? The long scene in the first half of the film, when there are lots of shots of the sea, then we see Mory and Fanta together on the cliffs talking about leaving for FranceThe transformation of the Aunt from an unsympathetic character in the first half of the film to a praise singer in the second.Charlie's car which Mory and Fanta ride off in after robbing him is a Citroen painted in the flag of which country? How is it positioned in relation to the motorbike and the welcomers?1. How do you think the following things are alluded to in the film?The act of lovemaking The city of Paris The cycles of life – birth, death, birth2. How do you think the following things are symbolised in the film?African tradition African modernity – this film is made soon after Senegal gained independence The ties which hold us, such as family, friends, our familiar environment Colonial power The primitiveOther points to consider...Mambety inserts documentary footage from actual events, such as the women at the well, a wrestling competition, street children and a Presidential motorcade, into a fiction film. Do these scenes have anything to do with the story? What effect do they have on you, the viewer? What's your response to them? Why might they be in the film?Certain images and sounds are repeated in the film, such as the ocean, the crows, the cries of the taxi driver who runs away from the box then repeated by the caveman. What effect does this have? Does it 'organize' the film in any way?Answers... Mory's motorbike symbolizes Africa, in the scene after they ve robbed Charlie, it s positioned in such a way against the Citroen that the two seem oppositional. The Citroen is a French car decorated with the US flag stars and stripes so representing both French colonialism and US imperialism. The sea is a symbol for lovemaking. The cycles of nature are implied in the scenes of cattle slaughter and goat being sacrificed. Fanta ties the motorbike up as if shes trying to hold at bay the forces of modernity, of change. is the film trying to reconcile two opposing aspects, yearning for the past and tradition while simultaneously embracing modernity, the new? Whose the weird, white looking caveman up in the tree? Its as if Mambety shoves our images of 'primitive' Africans back in faces, also in the dream sequence when Mory and Fanta sit in the car, dressed in 1930s clothes smoking, being sung praises by Aminata Fal is a parody of successful Europeans. There's so much I d love to write about this film...Paris is reduced to a notion, an idea, a fantasy, brought to life through a clichéd song by Josephine Baker. On another level I read Touki Bouki as being about how Europe positions Africa and Africa positions Europe as exotic other. I m running out of space here, loads I could write about this film, hope this is useful, ENJOY!