La vie sur terre (1998)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Abderrahmane Sissako

Writer:

Abderrahmane Sissako (writer)

Release Date:

9 June 1999 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

In the last days of 1999, after a few shots of a French supermarket, abundant in food and color, we...

Awards:

9 wins

Cast

Abderrahmane Sissako	...	Dramane
Nana Baby	...	La jeune fille
Mohamed Sissako	...	Le Pére
Bourama Coulibaly	...	Le Photographe
Keita Bina Gaousso	...	Le receveur Poste
Mahamadou Dramé	...	L'Opérateur Poste
Moussa Fofana	...	L'invité radio
Keita Kagny	...	L'ami du photographe
Madlaye Traoré	...	Le Coiffeur
Solo Diarra	...	Le Client
Fodia Coulibaly	...	Le Tailleur
Madou Mariko	...	Le Journaliste radio
Lassina Kané	...	L'ingénieur son radio
Mahamane Maiiga	...	Le deuoéme Jouranliste de la Bibliothéque Pariée
Cheykh Bouya Ould Yarba	...	Les Clients Poste

Also Known As:

Life on Earth (USA)

Runtime:

61 min | Argentina:66 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

Mali | Mauritania | France

Language:

French | Bambara

Color:

Color

Certification:

Taiwan:GP | Argentina:13 | France:U | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

Haut et Court

human communication and technology

depicting a small rural village in Mali, Africa, it shows how an agrarian society copes with the slow introduction of technology into their millennia-old society. The battery-operated transistor radio is still the prefered tool for getting information and entertainment (nice scene of man riding a bicycle with a bulky radio wrapped around his chest). The telephone is a new tool, and many people are uncomfortable to talking to someone without actually visually seeing the other party, thus creating some interesting scenes such as someone picking up the receiver but not actually answering and talking until the caller fully identifies himself and explains the purpose of the communication. The helper here is the post office employee that helps callers on the social protocol of how to make phone calls and how to communicate with the reticent receiving-end people. Visually filmed in a mud-brick village, showing small shops, impromptu businesses on the mud flats, the camera moved smartly from angle to angle to show the 360 degree nature of a very interwined society, where everyone knows everyone else, and where everyone else is visually positioned. One technique used in changing location context is showing a barber and his client, then zooming into the mirror, a reflected image is seen in the mirror of a bicyclist, and the camera then rotates to see the real bicyclist, leading to another context. The pace is slow, just as life in rural Mali can be interpreted to be slow by a person accustomed to a faster paced society. Reminded me of some of the black and white movies made in India in the 50s and 60s depicting rural life.