Get ready for style, rhythm, and storytelling prowess because this week’s journey through my Letterboxd Map takes us to the Republic of Congo for Sunday in Brazzaville.
Title: Sunday in Brazzaville
Directors: Adrià Monés and Enric Bach
Released: October 11, 2012 (Premiere – Italy)
Runtime: 53 minutes
In 2002 Brazzaville was considered the worst city in the world to live in.
A radio DJ speaks as we see people going about their lives in Brazzaville. The DJ says this year is a special one as Brazzaville will soon celebrate the 50th anniversary of colonialism ending. The DJ provides some backstory for the viewer, reminding listeners that the Congo suffered a war in the 90s, a civil war that truly hurt the Congolese people. But the people of Congo must move forward and wake up, like our protagonists of the weekend, Yves, Chériff, and Palmas.
First up, we meet Yves François Ngatsongo aka Yves Saint Laurent, he’s president and founder of a sapeurs association. His favorite perfume is YSL, his style idol is, you guessed it, Yves Saint Laurent.
Back to the DJ giving us a voiceover setting up the first story about one of Congo’s most popular forms of expression, the SAPE. Society of Atmosphere setters and Elegant People. After WW1, the Congolese who fought with the French came back from Paris dressed like dandies, people started to imitate them, style had reached Brazzaville.
A bit of YSL’s backstory, he’s a second-generation sapeur whose parents worked for white folks. They had money to dress YSL well and that’s something he’s maintained. Visiting YSL’s home was a bit of a surprise. He says a great sapeur dresses without borrowing, so his wardrobe is rather extravagant including 80 complete suits. He’s got more sense of style in his pinky than I do in my whole body. It’s an expensive lifestyle, but all of their clothing is bought, not stolen. That’s an important rule of sapeurs, who come from all walks of life.
Next up is Chériff Bakala, he performs with a band known as FB Stars and tries to inject something local into their music. They’re recording their first album tomorrow and tonight are scheduled to play the 5 Jours Hip Hop festival. The head of the festival tells us that music in Congo suffers because there’s no music industry in Congo. So, they decided to create a festival for young artists to have a place to perform. We watch as they run through a song, the song itself is about the imbalance of power and opportunity in Africa.
Now the fighter, Palmas. We see parades of fighters riding on the roofs of taxis. It’s the Carnival, a very Congolese sort of advertising announcing that there’s a fight tonight. It’s the best of Brazzaville versus the best of Kinshasa. With Palmas, the term “fighter” has been used but lo and behold, it’s professional wrestling. Not a knock, just not at all what I was expecting when I hear the term “fighter”. Fans say Palmas is champ thanks to fetish, better known as a type of black magic. The wrestling is heavily focused on storytelling and showmanship, with Palmas excelling in both.
With Friday in the books, Brazzaville is wondering what the weekend has in store.
Add this to the list of films I’m glad to have found while doing this project. An incredibly simple yet engaging concept. We were just along for the ride as we followed these three through their weekend in Brazzaville and it was fascinating. They each are very passionate about their craft and proud of where they come from. Perfect examples of using resources you have at your disposal to make your dreams a reality.
I really enjoyed how the radio DJ served as a narrator as we drifted from story to story while dropping some history of Brazzaville along the way.
With a city once considered the worst place to live, it would’ve been easy to focus on the negative and give us a depressing documentary. That’s not to say it’s a story that shouldn’t be told, but the choice by the directors to instead highlight the enthusiasm within these subcultures and their community was a welcomed one.
Coming in at just under an hour, this is a super breezy watch. I actually wish we could have spent more time with YSL, Chériff and Palmas.
It’s impossible to walk away from this in a bad mood. Their positivity was infectious and their passion inspiring.
Put this one on your watchlists.