Direction: Jean Luc Herbulot
Country: Senegal
Congolese director Jean Luc Herbulot teams up with producer Pamela Diop in the screenplay of Saloum, a biting crime thriller populated by African folklore and supernatural elements. The oppressive environment naturally lends an air of danger to a story that follows three mercenaries - Chaka (Yann Gael), Rafa (Roger Sallah) and Minuit (Mentor Ba) - who are forced to land their plane on the mystic land of Saloum in Senegal. They transport an important Mexican trafficker on the run from Guinea-Bissau and a gold bounty.
Posing as gold miners while looking for fuel and resin, this gang - the Bangui Hyenas - is in this region for a particular reason. A few threatening human presences on the site are considered minor when compared to the inhuman forces they will have to battle.
While Saloum may be a little frustrating in its upshot, you’ll be sufficiently intrigued to keep watching. The film paints an unusual, funny, and sometimes violent portrait of a certain contemporary Africa, providing a rough sketch of past traumas and a quest for revenge with a nod to the Western genre. There’s no particularly sympathetic character for us to root for, and yet the scenes are well acted, technically decent, and infused with a well-connected soundtrack.
A mixture of solemnity and comedy colors the whole film, and there’s a neat and meticulous attempt at illustration despite the occasional wild camera movements. The bet was risky, but it paid off since the film fulfilled its primary mission: to agitate and entertain.
