The Chadian film Un homme qui crie was shown in the U.S. with the translated title A Screaming Man (2010). The movie was written and directed by the Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Youssouf Djaoro portrays Adam Ousmane, who is called "Champion." When he was younger, he won the Central African swimming championship, and the name has stayed with him. His son, Abdel Ousmane (Diouc Koma) works with his father in a high-end hotel in the nation's capital. Both of them work at the hotel's swimming pool, where Adam is respected, and Abdel is adored by everyone because of his good looks and his easy-going manner.
This movie reminded me of a Greek tragedy. That's not because the father and son come into unwilling conflict, but because Adam has to make a choice between two terrible options. How can you do the right thing if either path you choose is the wrong path? When there are two compelling demands, and each precludes the other, what happens to the protagonist?
Adam is caught in just such a situation. There's a war going on, and the local political boss demands payment to the government. Adam, although not poor, doesn't have the money to make the payment. What are his options?
This movie is worth seeing on its own merits. That fact that it's from Chad makes it even more important to view it. If I counted correctly, less than a dozen films have been made in Chad. The superb Dryden Theatre at The Eastman Museum in Rochester is showing five of these movies as part of a Mahamat-Saleh Haroun retrospective. My compliments to the Dryden for giving us the opportunity to see these movies on the large screen. (Some of Haroun's films are available for the small screen, but some are not.) Seeing these movies on the large screen was truly a privilege. Un homme qui crie is a great film--see it if you can.
P.S. Even with the resources of the Eastman Museum, a print of Haroun's "Bye Bye Africa" couldn't be located. If you know someone who has a print of that movie, please notify the Dryden Theatre.
