Plots(1)
A furious cry of resistance against racist oppression, the debut from Mauritanian director Med Hondo is a bitterly funny, stylistically explosive attack on Western capitalism and the lingering legacy of colonialism. Laced with deadly irony and righteous anger, Soleil Ô follows a starry-eyed immigrant (Robert Liensol) as he leaves West Africa and journeys to Paris in search of a job, a community, and intellectual engagement—but soon discovers a hostile society where his very presence engenders fear and resentment. Drawing on the freewheeling experimentation of the French New Wave, Hondo deploys a dizzying array of narrative and stylistic techniques—animation, docudrama, dream sequences, musical numbers, folklore, slapstick comedy, agitprop—to create a revolutionary landmark of political cinema and a shattering vision of awakening black consciousness. (Criterion)
(more)Cast
Armand Meffre
France
Best movies:
Jean de Florette (1986)
Manon of the Spring (1986)
The Verdict (1974)
Greg Germain
France
Best movies:
Dead Certain (1981)
Violette (1978)
Oh, Sun! (1967)
Robert Liensol
France
Best movies:
Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
Time to Kill (1990)
Oh, Sun! (1967)
Théo Légitimus
France
Best movies:
The Three Brothers (1995)
Madame Rosa (1977)
The Telephone Always Rings Twice (1985)
Armand Abplanalp
Switzerland
Best movies:
Oh, Sun! (1967)
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
The Burned Barns (1973)