Mandabi (The Money Order)

France/Senegal | 1968 | Ousmane Sembéne

An unemployed, impoverished Senegalese man with two wives and seven children finds his life upended when he receives a money order from a relative in France. While jumping through bureaucratic hoops to cash it, he is besieged with requests for bribes, loans, and alms. The second feature by “father of African film” Ousmane Sembéne is an angry and coruscatingly funny satire of the legacy of colonialism in his country, based on his own novel. It was also the first film made in a native African language (Wolof) by an all-African crew. “A richly comic and multi-textual first cousin to Bicycle Thieves.” –J. Hoberman. New 4K restoration! Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. 91 min.

Mandabi, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online from 1/29 thru 2/18 via the link below. Doing so supports the Cinematheque. Screening fee is $12, and you have 72 hours to watch it.

https://watch.eventive.org/mandabi/play/6001ec84c12874002972fd33