Atlantique.

I just finished watching Atlantics on Netflix and now all I want to do is sit somewhere, be pensive and fall in love. 

I am equally, if not more inspired, by the strength of women and the burdens Black women in particular bear with, seemingly, such ease. Selected to compete for the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Grand Prix, also at Cannes, and being entered at Senegal's selection for "Best International Feature Film" for the upcoming 92nd Academy Awards, Mati Diop's 2019 directorial debut Atlantics, based on her nonfiction narrative "Atlantique" about a young, Senegalese man's journey across the Atlantic Ocean, is breathtaking to say the least. I've been listening to a single song from a single particularly memorable scene on repeat with no intentions of stopping. It's linked for your listening pleasure here and captures the essence of the film exquisitely.

Movie Poster

The cinematography, the music, the cadence of speech, all of it was just so moving. And YES, for those of you wondering, the entire thing is in Wolof so YES, unless you are fluent in Wolof, you are going to have to read a movie’s worth of subtitles. Get over it. Be bougie and artistic with me. It will be so worth your while. There are so many aspects to consider while watching. Why someone would decide it's better to risk crossing the ocean to Europe in search of work, instead of staying home with your loved ones? How do we mourn those we've lost if we're not wholly convinced they're gone? Do ghosts exist? Can they exact both revenge and karma on those who did them wrong in life? Does love truly conquer all, even death? So many things to consider and Miss Diop's film will make you consider all of them. Not to mention the possibility of ghosts embodying living people to retrieve what's owed them. But you'll have to watch the movie to find out more about that.

What's interesting in all this is that Diop is French and Senegalese but she grew up in France. This is not her lived experience. In an interview with The Guardian she says, “As a mixed [-race] girl, there’s always a visible and invisible side of you; there’s a place you inhabit and place you desert. How does the place that you don’t live in influence you?” and I cannot agree more. So while I, an African-American young woman, cannot wholly attest to whether or not the experiences and perspectives in this film are 100% true, they do much more than get their point across. They're not only relatable and mildly heart-breaking, they embody the strength of a female community in the absence of their men. They appear distinctly African as opposed to overly Westernized. They rally together, help each other as friends, giving out the best advice they have. The narratives range from haunting and cautionary to courageous and meaningful. Ada's mother just wants what's best for her daughter. Her best friend just wants her to play it smart. Her club-owning friend wants her to only take what she knows she can stand, and to leave if she can stand no more. While men have their part to play in this film as it centers around their absence, the voices of these women can be heard loud and clear.

Ada in the final shot of the final scene

If nothing else, let this film inspire the rest of your 2020 to be just as daring, just as all-in, just as haunting, realistic,  and authentic-to-self as you possibly can be. Let it inspire you to tell those you love them while they are still in front of you. As Co-Star would tell you (and told me), “Don’t be afraid to share your truths.” Because what other time do you have, but the present in which to do so?

xx