It’swinterinFrance,thelightisdull,thecamerapansoverasnowywastelandandentersamassiveconstructionofsteelandglassthatisopenatthesides,stoppinginfrontofthereproductionofawoodenship.Thestructurethatjutsoutovertheupperdeckisinscribedwiththewords‘Liberté,Égalité,Fraternité’. MedHondousesthistrackingshottoestablishthesettingofhisfeaturefilmWestIndiesoulesnègresmarronsdelaliberté(1979),whileopeningupamuchlargerspacetotheimaginationatthesametime.Theshipturnsouttobeamostversatilestageforagrotesquenarrativeofcolonialism,slaveryandthestruggleforindependenceintheFrenchWestIndies.MedHondoexploreshismanythemesinthislimitedspace,whetheritbetheMiddlePassage,marronage,abolitionorthehistoryoflabourmigrationtoFrance.Thefilmmarriesanaestheticsofthriftwiththeflamboyanceofamusical;differenttimeperiodsglideintooneotheraselegantlyasthegeographicalpointsofreference;andonlyoccasionallydotheactors’visibleexhalations,analienationeffectcreatedbythecold,remindusthatWestIndieswasnotshotonMartinique.
2025-03-17 23:40:12，最后更新于 1月前
