Night of the Kings

Combining african realism with magic. The wild prison of Abidjan become the scene to explore both the country's turbulent present and social conditions through rite and music. A very different 'prison movie' that shows that young african cinema draw its way not by imitating but by creating new species, adapted to its specialities. Acting is superbe - Denis lavant holds a very distinctive role, underlying his peculiarity as a unique performer - and the director manages genuisly the scenes where the lot of prisoners act as a chorus in ancient tragedy. The living music tradition of western Africa palys too an important role. Surprisingly astonishing!!!!

For once , the trade paper reviews were actually accurate, it is so different from what 'we' are used to watching. And I was totally engaged from the very first moments of the film until the end and for me it was a movie that stays with you and you come to understand some of the deeper aspects of the film after you have watched it. The movie has completely different 'sensibilities' than Hollywood fare, it is most decidedly 1) African and 2) by a foreign (French) director. The best I can tell anyone reading this review is that I was so glad I watched it and enjoyed every last minute of it.

Between this and Undine, magical realism as a genre is really putting in the work in 2021 😤

A young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners. Night of the Kings is a really cool concept. Right away it's interesting and I kept wondering what would happen next. The writing for this is cool in the way that it's based on storytelling. The directing by Philippe Lacôte is very well done. But by far the thing that struck me most is the amazing ensemble. All of them have their own distinct characters and use it to the fullest. If the SAGs could nominate an ensemble that no one really knows about, this would be the one. Now, I do have some pacing issues and some of the execution didn't always work for me. But the crazy ending more than makes up for it. I would hope to see this at the Oscars or at least the Globes for international feature this year.

Written and directed by Philippe Lecote, Night of the Kings was screened outdoors at the Hollywood Legion Drive-in Cinema and the soft and cool breeze present throughout the film laid down an atmospheric ambiance that no indoor theatre could match. Blazing cinematography with vibrant red, orange, and yellow hues from cinematographerTobie-Marier Robitaille rivaled Roger Deakins Academy-award winning work from BladeRunner 2049.

Night of the Kings turned out to be a special Friday Night at the drive-in. In addition to the exceptional cinematography, epic (literally and figuratively) production design the stalwart performances, and the classic narrative combined with the writing and seemingly spontaneous choreography send this feature film into the stratosphere. Highly recommended!