L’Histoire De Souleymane - (Souleymane’s Story) English subtitled
Boris Lojkine, France 2024, 93 min., French, Fulah, Malinké spoken, English subtitles. Cast: Abou Sangare, Nina Meurisse, Emmanuel Yovanie, Younoussa Diallo, Keita Diallo.
Gripping drama about a Guinean trying to survive in Paris as a meal delivery boy while also trying to get out of illegality. Awarded the Jury Prize and the Best Actor prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.
Boris Lojkine’s fourth film follows an undocumented Guinean immigrant, Souleymane through the bustling streets of Paris for over two days as he makes bike courier food deliveries while preparing for his asylum interview. Part of an underground economy of couriers who rent verified accounts, Souleymane works morning to night, piecing together a life between the strict schedule of the homeless shelter he stays at with other immigrants, fitting in as many deliveries as possible to avoid penalties from the app, and somehow finding time to call his girlfriend back at home.
All of this leaves Souleymane with little time to assemble the payment and necessary paperwork for his well-meaning but harried immigration broker or to commit all the details of his revised asylum narrative to memory. Despite the pressing nature of his obligations, Souleymane’s personality shines through in his brief moments of respite – joking with other immigrant couriers, helping an elderly customer, and connecting with a kebab vendor. First-time actor Abou Sangare gives a commanding performance, radiant in its vulnerability and empathy, and culminating in the emotionally raw scene of the interview that will ultimately decide Souleymane’s fate.
Drawing inspiration from classic social-issue dramas, but adding the driving urgency of a thriller, Lojkine crafts a topical and emotionally immersive portrait of a young man whose story is simultaneously singular yet shared by the many undocumented labourers who urban centres rely on, yet constantly seek to restrict. (source: www.tiff.net)