The African Doctor

Absolutely loved this charming and light-hearted satire!

A lovely family friendly perspective on race and living as an immigrant in an unwelcoming community. The daily challenges that the main characters face make for a touching tale that will make you laugh and cry.

As an expat myself, I can definitely relate on a personal level with the incredibly truthful way this film portrays the challenges of trying to immerse within a new and very different society.

For the first time in many, many years, I'm giving a 10 out of 10. In 2006 one of the movie producers composed a song about this family and this story. The same "rapper" is also in the movie and this is the story about his family and being accepted in the 70s in the middle of a conservative nowhere. Anyway. He might not be the best movie made but it made me laugh and the end made me cry. I loved it and I was expecting this for a very long time. Merci Kamini.

Summary: A medical student in Paris, originally from Africa (Zaire/Congo, to be specific), turns down the opportunity to return to his homeland and work for the ruling kleptocracy. Instead, in pursuit of French residency, he agrees to set up a practice in a small town in rural France. Hilarity ensues.

No, really. Believe it or not, the film is largely a comedy. The writers (including the real-life son of the main character) made a clear choice to make this film as light-hearted as possible. Frankly, that was a stiff challenge. The film could easily have been far darker. Perhaps it should have been - but that would be a different film.

Dr. Zantoko (Marc Zinga in an impressive, enjoyable performance) takes on xenophobia, racism, annoying in-laws, marital strife, parenthood, unpaid bills, and small-town politics, rarely letting any of it get him down.

Zantoko's family (Aissa Maiga, Bayron Lebli, and Medina Diarra) also turn in winning performances.

I was less enamored with the performances of the townspeople. But that is probably colored by the negative characteristics they were called on to exhibit. So maybe they gave great performances??? (FWIW, Jonathan Lambert did a great job as the smarmy, back-stabbing politician.)

If I'm going to criticize something, it's the redemption arc for the town itself. This film tries to pull that off, with some unlikely deus-ex-machina events bringing everyone together for the happy ending.

I get it - the makers wanted an upbeat, feel-good film. Thing is, I've seen plenty of films where the charming, off-beat townsfolk eventually come together with the heroic outsider. Here, the film only made half the sale - I bought the family, but not the town.

The townspeople here aren't charming or off-beat - they're just xenophobic imbeciles. And frankly, if they were anything close to what was shown here, they DIDN'T deserve Dr. Zantoko, in the film or in real life.

But don't let that criticism steer you away. All in all, this was an enjoyable view into worlds that you don't see in American cinema at all, and only rarely in French cinema.

This film is based on the real story of Seyolo Zantoko, a doctor of Congolese origin who installed his doctor's office in the village of Marly-Gomont amnd stayed there with his famille from 1970 to 2009. A touching story telling the integration of this family in this village with humour (the white cows looking at Anne , the man explaining what is a leek): little by little the family begins to be accepted and appreciated by the people of Marly-Gomont. The performances of Marc Zinga (Seyolo Zantoko) and Aïssa Maïga (Anne Santoko) are excellent, so as the performances of the French actors and actresses.

The African Doctor nicely depicts the struggle in which a late 20th century African immigrant may find himself while trying to settle in provincial Europe. The cultural clashes are very funny to watch, but sometimes they seem a bit overdone. Nonetheless I think the struggle hits pretty close to reality. Without being a depressing movie, The African Doctor delivers quite a touching story.