La nuit des rois

Ponderous and heavy-handed fable/allegory uncomfortably straddles the line between gritty realism and fantasy and never quite convinces – the “prison life” as depicted is certainly not credible, and nothing of particular interest is done with the premise. The prison setting itself is certainly visually interesting (and its isolated location makes for a hell of an opening shot) but its difficult to understand what the overarching point of the film is.

This is an intriguing story and it may make you think about the tribal cultures of people from the area. I thought it was fairly engrossing, seeing what happened, even if the chronology is jumped about a bit. Of course it is fairly grim, given the setting (in a prison) and everything. I liked the almost communal singing and the scenes depicting locals in their tribal costumes and the like. This is a film with a definite sense of threat looming throughout but that kept me watching. A good watch

([100]1 ABIDJANIAN NIGHT[S])