As very white, very petite Maria Vial (Isabelle Huppert) hangs on to the back of a bus full of locals in a war-torn, African nation, it’s tempting to see her as tenacious, naïve and arrogant.
Claire Denis directs this purposefully disjointed, unsentimental look at postcolonialism in her native Africa. This is Denis’ most potent drama since Beau Travail (1999). She is also known for a more nuanced look at colonialism in Chocolat (1988).
Huppert and other characters emerge as symbols late in this well-wrought tale. By then we are engrossed in their personal struggles as violence threatens their family-owned coffee plantation. Vial refuses to be intimidated. She respects her workers and treats them well, firmly convinced of her right to be there.
Workers abandon the crop when they hear that Vial is sheltering The Boxer (Isaach De Bankole, quiet and mysterious as ever), a rebel leader. Struggling to harvest the coffee beans, Vial pauses to feed and care for the injured Boxer. She confides that her native France holds nothing for her. Life on this frontier is all she wants.
After warrior children invade the estate, they gorge on junk food. Finally they pass out, sleeping peacefully amidst toys and guns.
Where will the whites go and who will they become? Nicolas Duvauchelle is terrifying as Vial’s radicalized son Manuel. Her ex-husband Andre (Christophe Lambert) pleads with her to escape with him to safety.
A radio announcer scorns the colonialists as “white material,” a phrase coined to describe the cheap trinkets they brought with them to Africa.
If you like White Material, you might enjoy: 35 Shots of Rum; Even the Rain; The Last Lions.
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White Material 2009 / NR / 1 hour, 42 min
Cast Overview: Isabelle Huppert, Isaach De Bankole, Christophe Lambert, Nicolas Duvauchelle, William Nadylam, Adele Ado, Ali Barkai, Daniel Tchangang, Michel Subor
Director: Claire Denis
Genre: Drama, Foreign
Language: French, African with English subtitles
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