Soleil O
| Soleil O | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Med Hondo |
| Written by | Med Hondo[1] |
| Music by | George Anderson |
| Cinematography | François Catonné |
| Distributed by | USA: New Yorker Films |
Release dates |
France: January 4, 1973 USA: March 14, 1973 Belgium: December 18, 1975 UK: December 3, 2003 |
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country |
France Mauritania |
| Language | French, Arabic |
| Budget | $30,000[2] |
Soleil O (Oh, Sun) is a 1967 French-Mauritanian drama film directed by Med Hondo.
Plot
The film Soleil Ô, shot over four years with a very low budget, tells the story of a black immigrant who makes his way to Paris in search of “his Gaul ancestors”. This filmic manifesto denounces a new form of slavery: The immigrants desperately seek work and a place to live, but find themselves face to face with indifference, rejection, and humiliation, before heeding the final call for uprising. “Soleil Ô” is the title of a West Indian song that tells of the pain of the black people from Dahomey (now Benin) who were taken to the Caribbean as slaves.
Cast
- Yane Barry as White Girl[3]
- Bernard Fresson as Friend
- Greg Germain
- Théo Légitimus as Afro Girl
- Robert Liensol as Visitor
- Armand Meffre
Reception
The film played during the International Critics' Week at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival where it received critical acclaim.[4] It received a Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Locarno International Film Festival.[5]
In his Family Guide to Movies on Video, Henry Herx wrote that the film's "use of ironic humor and lively music keeps the plight of the black emigrant worker from becoming totally depressing."[6]
References
- ↑ "Soleil O > Production credits". AllMovie. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ↑ Reid, Mark; Blum, Sylvie (1986-03-31). "Med Hondo, interview Working abroad". Jump Cut. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
- ↑ "Soleil O > Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ↑ "Directors in Focus — African Perspectives: Med Hondo". Harvard Film Archive. 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
- ↑ "Winners of the Golden Leopard". Locarno International Film Festival Official Site. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ↑ Herx, Henry (1988). "Soleil-O". The Family Guide to Movies on Video. The Crossroad Publishing Company. p. 249 (pre-release version). ISBN 0-8245-0816-5.
- African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT (license CC BY-SA)
External links
- Soleil O at the Internet Movie Database