Yo, un negro

Africa colonised and poor, but happy. The narration in Rouch’s influential ethno-fictional film, the final part of the so-called Niger Trilogy, was reportedly improvised. Despite that, it’s impossible to resist the suspicion that by symbolically ceding the soundtrack, the director not only gave his protagonists a voice, but also a range of words that they were allowed to use. Their self-representation is limited to the realm of HIS film, as is clearly indicated by the pre-credits introduction, only after which are the words delivered. Rouch thus has complete control over the presented image, obviously shaped to some extent by the presence of the camera, which provokes the actors to engage in grander self-stylisation and overacting, and someone occasionally looks directly into the camera. ___ For them, the conditions for a happy urban life are money, an attractive body and friendship, i.e. the same values that young people in Paris lived for (which is aided by the fact that they chose French and American actors as their role models). The differences between the Third World and the capitalist world are relativised by drawing attention to the youths’ private dreams and troubles. The interchangeability of the two young men’s wishes and the presented stories (most of the film is peculiarly taken up by weekends) contribute to the universal nature of the film, though it also detracts from its criticalness. In the second, more melodramatic half of the film, Eddie picks a fight with an Italian not because of their different skin colour, but because the latter stole Eddie’s girlfriend. If the protagonist was previously happier, that’s only because he was younger. External conditions had no role in that. Only shortly before the ending is it stated that the French are better off, as if this were an immutable fact grounded in history. At the same time, it is implied that Edward has the option to freely leave Côte d'Ivoire, though of course the film neglects the fact that the real conditions of Edward’s life make this impossible. ___ The unfortunate thing about this film is that it was made shortly before the rise of post-colonial discourse, in the light of which it comes across as very backward. Its value today consists in its connection to the French New Wave, for which it provided a production, aesthetic and even ethical model (situations are not to be created, but rediscovered). Godard in particular did not hide his admiration for Rouch’s ability to pin down the essential truth about his social actors (for example, a comparison can be drawn between the self-stylisation of the two African youths and the “Bogartised” Belmondo). 70% (11.08.2013)