Faces of Women (1985)

At a festival, a chorus of women sing and dance as two stories unfold. In a village, a young women with a jealous husband gives him something to be jealous about when his younger brother visits from the city.

Director:

Désiré Ecaré

Writer:

Désiré Ecaré

Stars:

Sidiki Bakaba, Kouadou Brou, Albertine N'Guessan

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Sidiki Bakaba	...	Koiassi
Kouadou Brou	...	Brou
Albertine N'Guessan
Eugénie Cissé-Roland	...	Fish Seller (as Madame Eugénie Cissé-Roland)
Véronique Mahilé
Carmen Levry
Anny Brigitte
Alexis Leache
Victor Couzyn	...	(as Victor Cousin)
Fatou Fall
Traore Siriki
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Désiré Bamba

Storyline

At a festival, a chorus of women sing and dance as two stories unfold. In a village, a young women with a jealous husband gives him something to be jealous about when his younger brother comes for a visit. When her husband threatens her, she learns self-defense, but her troubles may not be over. In a coastal city, Mrs. Congas runs a fish-drying business. She wants a less smelly job, so she seeks a loan to open a restaurant. When she's turned down, two of her daughters visit the banker and bat their eyes; the loan comes through. But her troubles aren't over: every male relative and tribal cousin shows up, praising her lazy husband and expecting money, food, and help.

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Plot Keywords:

dance | festival | village | f rated | title directed by female | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

France Côte d'Ivoire

Language:

French Aidoukrou

Release Date:

13 February 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Gesichter der Frauen

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films de la Lagune

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Response to comment 1

The stories are connected, only though the common message of women empowerment. The lonely housewife initiates sex in a way that the spectators of Western cinema are seldom witness to. She tells him to stop fooling around and get down to business and she objectifies his body. Secondly, the story of the woman whose business is supporting her family is a poignant one. She makes some powerful statements such as "women are only secondary to men due entirely to a lack of great physical strength," and "God always sees eye-to-eye with women." The significance of this film is how women take charge in it. The Western world calls itself civilized, and yet is too primitive to consider women as equals. I guess it's just ironic to see the elusive signs of female empowerment come from tribal Africa.