- 1970
- Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP)
- 1 h 32 m
SummaryA money order from a relative in Paris throws the life of a Senegalese family man out of order. He deals with corruption, greed, problematic family members, the locals and the changing from his traditional way of living to a more modern one.
Directed By:Ousmane Sembene
Written By:Ousmane Sembene
Mandabi
Metascore
Generally Favorable
73
User score
Available after 4 ratings
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
73
89% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
11% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
80
Sembène looks ruefully yet tenderly at the ruses and wiles of the poor, whose desperate struggles—with the authorities and with one another—distract them from political revolt.
80
As a comedy dealing with life's miseries, it displays a controlled sophistication in the telling that gives it a feeling of almost classic directness and simplicity.
By Roger Greenspun
FULL REVIEW 80
Mandabi features an excellent performance from Guèye, who is innocent and culpable all at once. This is gentle, walking-pace cinema that leads us by the hand from vignette to vignette, from scene to scene, presented to us with ingenuous simplicity and calm.
78
Sembène achieves this balance of tone with a mix of absurd and biting dialogue and a modest mise en scène.
75
A keen satire, MANDABI is not only Sembene's first comedy and first film in color, but also his first in Wolof, the language spoken by most Senegalese people. Its critique of a postcolonial state is much more narrowly focused than those of his earlier short films, and, as the first Senegalese film to be distributed commercially in Senegal, it more than got its point across.
By Staff (Not Credited)
FULL REVIEW 70
This wryly mordant film achieved many firsts for the illustrious father of African cinema.
By Kat Sachs
FULL REVIEW 40
Honest but stupid. [19 Mar 1970, p.54]
By Jonas Mekas
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Available after 4 ratings
tbd
0% Positive
0 Ratings
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100% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Sep 13, 2023
6
The second Ousmane Sembène movie I've seen. Compared to BLACK GIRL's stunning visuals and experimental editing, this one is much more reserved. This one is a lot more conservative in comparison. The political satire doesn't seem to be as head-on as BLACK **** plot is reminiscent of the French masterpiece Madame Bovary with the same money owed, so I'd give it a 6/10 overall. Somehow BLACK GIRL's near-perfect camera work and experimental techniques didn't survive, and it became an ordinary movie story, but as an African movie it's still immeasurably great!
Report
Production Company:
- Filmi Domirev
- Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP)
- StudioCanal
Release Date:Mar 26, 1970
Duration:1 h 32 m
Awards
Valladolid International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
