Touki Bouki

A shepherd meets a student in Dakar, where he came to sell his flock. They both dream of going to Paris and will take any measures they see fit to get the money for the trip. After many adventures, they find themselves on the deck of a ship making its departure. But in the end, Mory refuses to leave, realizing the dream was just a decoy. Between everyday life in the poor neighborhoods of Dakar and the representation of Paris, which is more symbolic than real, between tradition and modernity, between dream and reality. At the time the film was released, the belated independence of African countries made the continent's cinematography the youngest in the world. To perhaps offset that delay, Mambéty's first feature film conjured up a great many disruptions, as if making up for lost time: the plot gets subjected to the chaos of its structure, editing and even sound design, prompting comparisons to Godard and a cold reception at its premiere. The legacy of this masterpiece lives on and also serves as an unwitting reminder of the sacrifice that young Africans still go through as they pursue a future in new lands.