The Story of Souleymane (L’Histoire de Souleymane): Film review
There are a few French films at the always wonderful Melbourne International Film Festival. I’ll be reviewing two films, The Story of Souleymane and Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros for MyFrenchLife Magazine.
Firstly, The Story of Souleymane
Mais, un petite avertissement:
This is not a romance, a comedy, or a film about the sights and pretty streets of Paris, nor a look at the cultural and foodie life. Direct from the Cannes Film Festival, The Story of Souleymane follows the life of an illegal worker – a Guinean delivery rider in Paris hoping to earn enough money to pay a ‘broker’ to help him hone his interview story for asylum with the French authorities.
The film looks at the struggles and obstacles that Souleymane and his fellow undocumented workers face in Paris while they wait to learn if they will be granted legal status.
They need jobs, and Souleymane has managed to get himself a bicycle to do deliveries. He can’t legally work in Paris, so he rents an account from a legitimate delivery driver, which means he pays a huge cut of his earnings to the account owner. Not only that, Souleymane of course doesn’t get paid directly, so he relies on the owner of the account to pay him.
And things get worse for Souleymane…
One day he has a traffic accident, which damages his bike, and the delivery package, so the customer refuses to accept it, which affects his rating. And his last delivery that day happens to be to the police, who question him about the damaged light on his bike – it’s illegal. They question his identity, as the photo on the app of the legitimate delivery driver’s account does not match Souleymane’s face. They ask him how much he earns – not much – but clearly feel sorry for him and let him go. Then he needs to rush to get to the bus to take him and others to a homeless shelter for the night.
It’s just one thing after another. Back home, his mum is ill, and his girlfriend has a marriage proposal. He encourages her to accept the proposal as neither of them can make the horrendous journey, either backward or forward, to see each other.
But, it’s not all dark…
But there are light moments, and acts of kindness and generosity in the film, with fellow workers helping each other and food stall owners offering food.
To gain legal status, Souleymane has been advised to seek political asylum, so he needs a story and documents to back that up. But the ‘broker’ he engages keeps recycling the same old story to everyone who seeks his help. When Souleymane finds the details of the story too detailed to remember, a friend tells him to ‘just tell the truth’ at the interview. ‘Just tell them your story.’
Abou Sangare who plays Souleymane is, surprisingly, a first-time actor. He won the Best Actor award at Cannes. Sangare is superb; with an engaging smile and showing just the right amount of emotion and, at times desperation, without overacting. He can reign in the performance while projecting what he needs to
Have you seen this film? What was your view? We’d like to hear from you.
Further reading: Here you’ll find Cynthia Karena’s interview with director Boris Lojkine
Further information: This film was viewed as part of The Melbourne International Film Festival 2024
Image credits: The Melbourne International Film Festival
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About the Contributor
Cynthia Karena
I am a freelance journalist, TV researcher and media trainer based in Melbourne. I write about tech, film, sustainability and travel among other things - and of course, all things French for MyFrenchLife.org. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram
