The African Doctor (2016)

Directed by Julien Rambaldi

Starring: Marc Zinga, Aïssa Maïga, Bayron Lebli, Médina Diarra.

Resume: This drama comedy is based upon the true story of a family from Zaïre moving to France. Father Seyolo Zantoko is a doctor and well known for his good work in Kinshasa. When the opportunity arrives for him to go work in a small French village he decides to take the chance. His wife and two kids traveling with him.

It's 1975 when the family Zantoko travels to France. A country they well know back in Zaïre: mother Anne dreams of Parisian shops and french fashion outlets, daughter Sivi from soccer and son Kamini probably dreams of seeing the Eifel tower. None of these things happen in the first couple of years, but hell, we don’t know that yet.

When arriving in a small town called Marly Gomont, mother Anne looks visible unpleasant: this is not what she signed up for. Her husband however has a smile on his face that nothing can make disappear. And with that big smile he walks towards their new house carrying their suitcases.

Seyolo is recommended by the mayor of the town to become the general practitioner. He is full of optimism when he starts his practice. But soon the reality kicks in: the town is filled with racist people, no one trusts a Black doctor to begin with.

The ‘drama’ in this drama-comedy starts to show. It’s surprising how much comedy can add to pinpoint exactly the microagression of racism and injustice. I think I’ve never before seen such a good example of highlighting problematic situation without adding too many words. It puts down exactly how ridiculous it is.
Seyolo is that man that despite of getting shout at and hearing racist slurs he still manages to help with much patience and love.

Anne however is none of that. She is the fierce women we all want to see. When visiting the market in Mary Gomont, with she hates because they don’t even sell good herbs - that makes her food taste like ‘nothing’, she overhears people talk about Seyolo. She doesn’t hesitate to step in. “What do y’all know about him? He has a degree and speaks better France than you with that stupid accent of yours”. Anne is that beautiful extraordinary women that makes people shut up by saying what needs to be sad. She doesn’t care about respectability politics at all. In fact, one night she and Seyolo are invited at the major’s house. When the major announces that Seyolo can apply for France citizenship and Anne discovers Seyolo already knew but hadn’t told her yet she makes no joke about disliking this. She doesn’t want citizenship in a country she and her family are unwanted. She walks away from the kitchen table and leaves the house.

Anne’s determination to be respected unconditionally makes Seyolo face something he doesn't want to. We understand both Anne and Seyolo and know that both of their ways of dealing with the situation are legit and necessary to survive. The one: patience cannot stand without the other: demanding respect.

Seyolo is that man that wants to be respected, so much so he is willing to forget where he comes from. As his family claims when Anne decides to invite them from abroad for the holiday’s. When they arrive they spice up the town of Marly in a blink. They also show Seyolo thay you can be respected while being yourself.

It's Christmas night when the family visits a church. They sing along with the gospel and turn melancholic stories into joy, maybe painful joy, but joy. And that’s exactly what the director of this movie does. Making this story, that’s sad in fact, into joy as well. Kamini, Seyolo's son is part of the movie process and I figure he played a huge part in deciding how he wanted his family story to be told.

Than one that same Christmas night, just as Seyolo is loosing his hope to be seen as a doctor and is a shamed of his family because they just sang and danced in the church and were, God (lol) forbid, LOUD. He finds himself handing a miracle from God: there is a women about to give birth and there is no one else then Seyolo that can help the delivery.

Well now let’s talk about the children of the family. So we have Sivi, a twelve year old girl who loves to play soccer. She turns out to be the best soccer player in town and that given played a huge part in the family’s destiny to be able to settle in the city. Sivi is a girl who likes to do what she likes to do. I really love how her character is being told. The bond between children and parent is refreshing too, it's very equivalent. There is transparency between them. One day Anne decides to leave for a week, because she is tired of Seyolo wanting to be respected and lying to her about it. She hates his disapproval to speak Lingala in the house. When that happens both Anne and Seyolo tell Sivi and Kamini honestly what’s going on. It’s healing to see a family dynamic portrayed as very normal. It’s normal that there are fights every now and then. It doesn’t necessary mean you’re from a broken family – something I needed to hear way before.

And then we have Kamini, a sweet zeven year old something boy, who likes to day dream and play with his friend Sylvie.

After a while the right wing politic party decides to come up with a plan to kick the family out of the city. They arrange for a police investigation to Seyolo’s birth certificate. When the investigation is in proces Seyolo can not continue his work as a doctor. Many people in the village start to whisper: “I told you we could not trust him”.

Days go by and the situation looks hopeless. But then there is Sivi, her soccer performance at school gets the attention of the politics. With such a good soccer player they can add Marly on the map. No one in France knows about Marly, Sivi’s talent might at to recognition. Bit by bit the family get’s the treatment they deserve. As we often see in real life too when Black and brown kids have talents in sport for example: the whole status of the family highs up. This conditional acceptation is very painful.

After all Seyolo works for many years with Anne by his side as his assistent. Without Anne and Seyolo the village wouldn’t be what it is. And Seyolo wouldn’t have been the man he was without Anne by his side. The dynamic between the characters of Anne and Seyolo is very nicely put. It overcomes to basic stereotypes we know of ‘male’ and ‘female’. I'm curious if y’all think that way too.

Unfortunately Seyolo died in 2009 in a car accident. This movie is his legacy. And it’s unlike the other movies I have written about here, available on Netflix. I really recommend watching it. Please let me know what you think.