by Alex Billington
May 28, 2024
This is the story of Souleymane. This is a story we need to hear. This is a story we need to understand. By now there's an entire subgenre of modern day refugee films - important, real stories about immigrants and refugees and asylum seekers struggling to make it safely into Europe and survive under the crushing weight of anti-immigration people and policy (also see: Green Border or Europa or Io Capitano). One of the latest entries in this subgenre is the film Souleymane's Story, also known as L'histoire de Souleymane in French (or The Story of Souleymane). This premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and won two awards: Best Actor and a Jury Prize. It deserves both - the lead performance is exceptional and the storytelling in this is especially powerful. It's one of these films that might change your life - you'll never order food delivery again because it feels like exploitation when one of these guy's delivers.
Souleymane's Story is directed by a French filmmaker named Boris Lojkine, his fourth feature film after making one documentary and two other features (Hope and Camille) before. The screenplay is written by Delphine Agut & Boris Lojkine, based on real stories of refugees. They immersed themselves in the Guinean community in Paris and met food delivery people to understand their experience. The result is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat cinematic experience following Souleymane Sangaré over the course of two days in Paris as he prepares for his asylum interview. Sangaré is a Guinean refugee who works his ass off every day riding a bike around the chaotic streets of Paris delivering food for almost nothing. He rents his delivery account from a friend who turns out to be an untrustworthy asshole, he lives in homeless shelters around the city, and he has to carefully navigate the world of refugees, making sure his livelihood and future is safe & secure. The film plays like Uncut Gems at times, it's that intense; the filmmakers were inspired by Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days and Cristi Puiu's The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. "Both recount in great detail, minute after minute, the efforts of a character struggling like a fly in a jar, prey to an oppressive system..."
In the film, Souleymane Sangaré is portrayed by an actual Guinean immigrant named Abou Sangare, who is the main focus if the story. The camera follows him closely, whether on his bike riding around the streets, or as he walks into various buildings to deliver meals, or as he makes his way around the sprawling Paris public transport system trying to not miss the last bus to the homeless shelter at the end of the day. This is the kind of unforgettable, realistic performance that will stay with you forever. Abou Sangare is not a movie star (he's really a mechanic in real life in France) and his performance in this doesn't feel like a "break out role" or "star making" moment. It feels authentic, above all else. It feels lived in, it feels like it's an accurate depiction of what life is like as a refugee living on the edge in Paris. And that kind of performance matters because it is the most empathetic, honest look at their life – it is showy or melodramatic. The film reminds me of the kind of films that filmmaker Ramin Bahrani used to make early in his career - Man Push Cart or Chop Shop or Goodbye Solo. The experience of watching this film leaves you changed thanks to the realism on display, with our compassion and humanity allowing us to be deeply moved by Souleymane and his story.
My biggest complaint about Souleymane's Story is that it has no score, or any music at all in its 93 minute runtime. I understand that the filmmakers want it to be raw and pure, for the filmmaking to come across as verité without any need to embellish or dramatize any of it. However, some kind of music would have given this an emotional edge that would've pushed it to even greater heights. Even working in some diegetic music into a few scenes would've made a difference. It's too dry, almost like being served a tasty meal without any salt or pepper in it. It's so close to being amazing, but it lacks that one important ingredient. The film also wraps up too quickly, leaving too many loose ends dangling. This may be the point anyway, as the "story of Souleymane" is ongoing, and there is no need for a nice and neat conclusion. They don't need to reveal the result of his asylum application, that's fine, but there's so much more going on with this life in Paris that I was hoping it would follow-up with before the credits started rolling. That said, I am quite hopeful that Souleymane's Story will go on to open the eyes of many viewers, moving them in ways that only cinema can.
Alex's Cannes 2024 Rating: 7.5 out of 10
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