I must admit, Alliance Française‘s first ever filmmaker retrospective in partnership with NBO Film Festival has made a huge fan of Alain Gomis’s filmmaking out of me. First it was L’AFRANCE, with its impeccable psychological realism and now Félicité, another character study that masters stillness and silence as the titular character’s eyes guides us through every step of her journey.
The life of Félicité, a singer from Kinshasa, takes an unexpected turn after her son meets with a freak accident. She must do everything she can in order to pay for her son’s urgent operation. This event brings forth a drastic change in not only Félicité’s life but also rolls the curtain, allowing one to have glimpses of her past.
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu as Félicité carries the film with such grace and understanding of character, backed by a brilliant script that allows her to communicate volumes through her eyes and subtle expressions. This amplifies her portrayal of Félicité’s mental regression and recovery beautifully, not forgetting her chemistry with Papi Mpaka (Tabu, Félicité’s love interest), and Gaetan Claudia (Samo, Félicité’s son).
Alain Gomis allows Kinshasa to speak for itself; the streets, the ruckus in the market, the state of the city through disputes, poor infrastructure and many more conditions that affect Félicité’s life.
An engaging slow burn worth every minute.
To book exclusive events with a TICKETING PARTNER visit tickets.sanaapost.com 😎👊🏿
