Xala (1975)

A corrupt politician is cursed with impotence on the night of his third wedding after embezzling 100 tons of rice.

Director:

Ousmane Sembene

Writers:

Ousmane Sembene (novel), Ousmane Sembene (screenplay)

Stars:

Thierno Leye, Myriam Niang, Seune Samb

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thierno Leye	...	El Hadji Aboucader Beye
Myriam Niang	...	Rama, El Hadji's daughter (as Miriam Niang)
Seune Samb	...	Adja Assatu, El Hadji's first wife
Fatim Diagne	...	El Hadji's secretary
Younouss Seye	...	Oumi, El Hadji's second Wife
Mustapha Ture	...	The Client (as Moustapha Touré)
Iliamane Sagna	...	Modu, El Hadji's chauffeur
Dieynaba Niang	...	La Badiene
Langouste Drobe
Farba Sarr	...	Businessman
Abdoulaye Boye
Papa Diop
Martin Sow
Mamadou Sarr	...	Businessman
Makhouredia Gueye	...	Minister Kebe

Storyline

It is the dawn of Senegal's independence from France, but as the citizens celebrate in the streets we soon become aware that only the faces have changed. White money still controls the government. One official, Aboucader Beye, known by the title "El Hadji," takes advantage of some of that money to marry his third wife, to the sorrow and chagrin of his first two wives and the resentment of his nationalist daughter. But he discovers on his wedding night that he has been struck with a "xala," a curse of impotence. El Hadji goes to comic lengths to find the cause and remove the xala, resulting in a scathing satirical ending.

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Plot Keywords:

third wife | wedding | senegal | impotence | third cinema | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Senegal

Language:

French Wolof

Release Date:

29 December 1977 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

The Curse

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmi Doomireew, Société nationale de cinématographie, Films Domireew

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Xala translates as "The Curse".

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Quotes

Minister Kebe: The potion must have been excellent! You haven't changed cloths yet.
Hadji Aboucader Beye: I couldn't get it up... nothing happened!
Minister Kebe: What?
Hadji Aboucader Beye: I couldn't get an erection. My mother-in-law says I have the Xala.

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Connections

References Black Girl (1966)

User Reviews

Is there no real independence?

So far in my life, I've only seen two Senegalese movies: "Hyenas" and "Xala". The latter offers a satirical look at corruption.

The plot goes like this: following Senegal's independence from France, a crooked official - he makes sure that France still controls the country's resources - uses the country's money to get married for the third time. That's when poetic justice kicks in; he gets stricken with a curse called "xala", rendering him impotent.

If absolutely nothing else, this movie is a very impressive look at a culture that we in the west rarely get to see (and specifically, we get to hear Wolof spoken). Are the events portrayed cause for cynicism? Hard to say. But I recommend the movie either way.