ENG197 Studies in African Film Michael Dembrow, Instr.

 

LE CAMP DE THIAROYE/CAMP THIAROYE (1987, Senegal, 152 min., directed by Ousmane Sembène and Thierno Faty Sow; screenplay by Sembène and Sow; cinematography by Ismail Lakhdar Hamina; music by Ismail Lô; with Ibrahima Sane (Sergeant-Major Diatta), Sijiri Bakaba (Pays), Jean-Daniel Simon (Captain Raymond), Mohamed Dansoko Camara, Gustave Sorgho, Gaston Ouedraogo, Gabriel Zahon, Casimir Zoba, and Ismail Lô. In French and Wolof.

 

  1. The film takes as its title the name of the transit camp in which the Senegalese soldiers, repatriated from the agony of their experience as soldiers in World War II and POWs in Buchenwald, the Nazi concentration camp. Why this choice? Why not name the film after a person or an abstract concept? Why give this place name as the title?

 

 

2. The opening of the film—disembarking from the ship to the arrival at the camp--is quite long. Why did Sembène not edit it down, to make it briefer? What is the director trying to achieve with this opening?

 

 

3. We come to learn that these "Tirrailleurs Africains" (African Infantrymen) come from a variety of West African areas—hence we have men known as "Niger," "Congo," etc. (Their common language is French). Many of them spent years together as soldiers and as German prisoners of war. Give examples of ways in which they display their comeraderie, their sense of community, despite their different backgrounds.

 

 
  1. Would you agree that Sergeant-Major Aloys Diatta is the film’s central character? Why? Discuss him. Does he change at all over the course of the film? What does he come to learn about himself and his place in the world?

 

 

 

5. Two of the other memorable African characters are Corporal Dialla and "Pays," the man who wears the German SS helmet. What do they add to the film?

 

 

 
  1. Among the French, the two most noteworthy characters are the "good Captain," Raymond and the "bad Captain," Labrousse. Contrast these two men, their attitudes towards the Senegalese, and their roles as agents of a colonial system.

 

 

7. Discuss the picture that we get of French colonialism in this film. Give examples. In what ways does this film capture many of the essential qualities of colonialism in general?

 

 
  1. Discuss the conflict between "traditional" and "modern," as embodied in Diatta and his relationship with his uncle, aunt, and cousin. How does he deal with this conflict? What do you think Sembène’s point is here?

 

 

9. One of the plot elements in the film is the confusion that occurs because the soldiers are given the uniforms of American G.I.’s. Discuss the picture of America that we get here, as well as the theme of America, what it represents.

 

 

10. Discuss the cinematography in the film. Do you notice many close-ups? Any? When do they occur? How would you characterize the style of the filming?

 

 

11. What do you notice about the music in the film?

 

 

 

  1. Discuss the final battle scene. How would you characterize the fighting that occurs? Why do we never see the men in the tanks? What do you make of the fact that many if not most of the men in those tanks were most likely African themselves?

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  2. Were the men right to challenge the conduct of the officers? Was it a fruitless error? How do you feel about the outcome? What do you think Sembène’s final message was?

 

 

14. Le Camp de Thiaroye rediscovers a hidden piece of history for us. But it does more than that, doesn't it? In what ways is the film an allegory for ongoing issues? To what extent does this document about colonialism have relevance in this post-colonial age?

 

 

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