Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

framptonhollis The thick border separating realism from surrealism is thinned down evermore in each scene of this gem of a drama. Anarchic, exhilerating, and playful, Touki Bouki takes its viewers on a unique and memorable journey despite the occasional boring or overlong sequence having the power to, every now and then, bring the movie's high quality down a few notches. However, boredom is really subjective, and I still remained at least somewhat engaged in the film's characters, ideas, story, cinematography, and overall artistry even when the scene I was watching felt dragged out. The film is unlike most others, both style and story wise. Not too much really happens in the film, and the conclusion is somber, off putting, and strange in a way that recalls almost nothing else's I have ever seen. It mixes many different feelings and genres and textures and so on and so forth, the main characters are both lovers, but they never have a romantic scene together, they just sort of hang out and interact in a very real and enjoyable way. The film can be interpreted as a dark tragedy, but comedy lurks in almost every corner, and even reaches its high point during what may be the most intense scene in the film! There are moments involving interesting cultural traditions that allow non-Africans like myself to get a unique glimpse into this foreign society, joyous scenes of song and dance, anarchic avant gardism, ingredients of a prettily poetic pop, humor that hangs both high and low brow, surrealistic twists, mindbending editing decisions, many sequences directly inspired by French New Wave Cinema (Jean-Luc Godard in particular), and plenty more! And the film is barely even ninety minutes long, the plot is ridiculously simple, and the scale is mostly minuscule.

gavin6942 Mory, a cowherd, and Anta, a university student, try to make money in order to go to Paris and leave their boring past behind.This film looks great and is just very interesting from the whole clash of cultures perspective. You have some African tradition here, and mixed in with that you have some Muslim practices. I am no expert, but I suspect Islam in Senegal is much different than in the Middle East. It's an interesting blend. And then, of course, you have the modern world of France, which is different from either of those cultures.What may strike viewers the most, especially because it happens so early in the film (and is repeated later), is the slaughter of the cattle. Whether the methods shown are humane or not, I have no idea. But they look brutal, and to the modern world it may be a shock to see something that has become so far removed from our everyday life. Now, food is food, and we rarely see that once upon a time it was a living thing.

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!

CommieTT I wanted to see this movie because I read about it on a list of political films that were praised in a local free newspaper (The Washington Free Press). The movie, filmed in the west African country of Senegal, does contrast the great divide between the haves and the have-nots; graphically so.However, the film style seems to be along the lines of the French new wave artist Jean-Luc Godard. I've read Godard is a "genius" when it comes to film -- but I think it depends on your perspective. I've enjoyed his films "Week End" and "Masculine-Feminine" but when it came to "Pierrot le fou," I just had to shrug. That's kind of how I felt about "Touki Bouki." If you are interested in seeing a very in-your-face story about two young lovers trying to find the money to leave Senegal for France, this is the film. Though be forewarned, it doesn't always make much sense! My rating: 5