Mercenaries and monsters collide in Jean Luc Herbulot’s Saloum. Set in the year 2003, the story begins in Guiena-Bissau where it joins a trio of arms for hire, The Hyenas: Chaka (Yann Gael), Midnight (Mentor Ba) and Rafa (Roger Sallah). The group’s latest job goes awry and they find themselves in need of somewhere to stash their stolen bounty and lay low long enough to repair and refuel their plane. They stumble across a holiday camp in the coastal region of Sine Saloum and do their best to blend in. Although strained, their plan gets off to a good start initially, but unbeknownst to the other Hyenas, Chaka is hiding a dark secret and has brought them to the camp for his own reasons. As the past catches up, events rage out of control and place the camp on the periphery of Hell.
Saloum gets off to an explosive start. As the song Malembe by KOKOKO! blasts onto the screen, the camera travels through a war zone, following The Hyenas as they mow down everything in their way of their hunt. It’s a visceral and frenetic opener, and one that supercharges energy levels. The mood shifts once we enter Saloum and the trio seek sanctum. Here an air of almost Hitchcockian mystery begins to sizzle as the audience tries to figure out everyone’s secrets and motives. An encounter with a deaf mute woman at the camp, Awa (Evelyne Ily Juhen), really ramps up the tension as she is a witness to some of the Hyena’s misdeeds. Fortunately for the three, outside of themselves, it appears that no one else can speak sign language. This doesn’t alleviate the atmosphere, but rather adds to it as the viewer becomes uncertain of how the group will handle Awa.
Once a certain secret has been exposed, Saloum moves into its endgame. Here some aspects get a little murky and the thrill from the vibrant beginning starts to wear-off. According to Herbulot, an older, earlier cut of the film ran at almost an hour longer than its current svelte eighty-five minutes. The removal of so much footage might account for some of the plot and pace niggles, but luckily Saloum rescues itself before its conclusion.
Despite being what would be traditionally considered a very masculine movie, Saloum has female narration. The unheard voice of Awa recounts the story of Chaka, Midnight, and Rafa, her words coating a fairytale aura. It’s an interesting device and one that frames the heroes almost like those found in myths and legends. Herbulot doesn’t stop there, his inclusion of so much sign language presents both an inventive way to tell the story, but also pushes Saloum into the modern branch of filmmaking that is happy to show characters of all abilities.
African cinema has rarely been this exciting, Herbulot has thrown his heart and soul into creating something that is unlike what the rest of the country’s film industry is producing. Hopefully he is just one of several new filmmakers to push the boundaries. Saloum is a potent potion of genres that may just kickstart an industry still stuck in the past.
Saloum
Summary
Dynamic and inventive, Saloum is a daring piece of African cinema, one that traverses all types of genres, which makes it a super exciting and thrilling watch.
Saloum was reviewed at Fantastic Fest 2021. Saloum arrives on Shudder from 8th September.
