Customer Reviews

Madame Brouette

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished watching this movie for my "West African Francophone Cinema" class. It's pure gold. This film is like many modern day thrillers by filmmakers like Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Steven Soderbergh-it simply takes place in Senegal. Although there are certainly many undertones, and culture specific sub-themes that a western audience can't comprehend, this film flows beautifully. The colorful scenes and lively music make this film a one of a kind experience.

I won't repeat the plot line...but you need to see this film!

Rokhaya Niang beautifully stands out as Mati, "Madame Brouette", a Muslim raised divorcee with a young daughter. She sells her wares in a wheelbarrow while looking out for the women in her village. She isn't afraid to speak her mind. She helps her friend Ndaxt get out of her abusive marriage. They live with Mati's father who doesn't believe in divorce. Mati doesn't conform to the tradition of a woman being a wife and mother alone. She values her independence despite what everyone else thinks.
She meets Naago, a morally corrupt cop while on the street with her wheelbarrow in tow. Naago takes an interest in the single mother and even befriends her daughter giving her money and Coca-Cola. She is at first not taken by him but on New Year's she finds herself falling in love with him. She doesn't know that he is involved with other women and is in debt to a pimp named London.
Her father puts her out of the house when he learns that she is pregnant outside of the marriage. She goes to Naago for help and finds out that he isn't who he is but is yet willing to hang on to him until things take a turn for the worse.
"Madame Brouette" isn't a musical, although there is a chorus and the daughter sings about a partridge that wants to be free. The partridge is symbolic for personal freedom. Humans want to be free. Despite Mati's independence, she was expected to conform to subservient roles of women. Naago wasn't free from his debts. Naago's involvement in corruption prisoned him like the prisoners in jail. The tragedy of Mati and Naago has created a battle of the sexes and exposed the system for what it is.
"Madame Brouette" was an interesting movie to watch. I highly recommend it.

Wildly colorful, with great music. This is a soundtrack to own, and it elevates the film itself.
A woman in Senegal apparently kills her abusive husband. An odd, semi-comic police investigation
is intercut with flashbacks of the events leading up to the murder. Moments of the
performances and writing are uneven, but the bold cinematography and ear-catching
soundtrack make it worthwhile.

This is an insightful movie to watch as well as a suspenseful movie with a surprise ending.

The film is charming. It is tragic and funny at the same time. The griots' chanting is magic as is Senegal.

"Madame Brouette" depicts the travails of the African woman. It is a well-conceived movie anchored on the double theme of sexuality and violence in Africa. This wonderful film that commences from the end introduces viewers to the world of police corruption, prostitution, the underworld, influence peddling, and abuse of power in the Senegalese society. Naago,the male protoganist, is a prototype of the Senegalese policeman steeped in corruption,dereliction of duty,and abuse of women. The stoicism of the female protagonist, Mati, captures the attention of viewers right from the onset. She is a woman of steel who endures humiliation by her adulterous husband, and rejection by her own father who does not seem to comprehend his daughter's frustrations.In her attempt to fend for herself and lone daughter, Mati involves herself in contraband trade but winds up opening a cafe which she runs for a living. In a nutshell, Moussa Sene Absa has accomplished a tour de force with "Madame Brouette", a movie that explores the ramifications of gender inequality in contemporary Africa. For those desirous of understanding the mindset of contemporary Africans, this movie is a must watch.

Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta, Professor at the Defense Language Institute,California, USA.

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It has an interesting plot and good actors. The music is lovely. Absolutely recommended!

I buy movies for the local Alliance Francaise, and this is one of them. It's a Senegalese movie mostly in French about a woman who kills her husband, a corrupt cop. All she wants is love, security for her kids, and a small restaurant.

THIS MOVIE IS ESPECIALLY FOR AFRICANS TO WATCH...THE FACT MY FAMILY TREE CAME FROM WEST AFRICA I COULD RELATE WITH THE MOVIE...AND I NEED TO GET THE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE MOVIE WHICH HAS GOOD MUSIC..GOOD STORY WITH A SHOCKING ENDING TO IT!!!