Félicité
Director/ Screenplay: Alain Gomis
Cast: Véro Tshanda Beya, Gaetan Claudia and Papi Mpaka
Duration: 123min
PLOT: The film is based on the struggles of a single mother who also works as a singer in a bar. Félicité loves to sing and every time she gets up on stage, the music transports her to a different world. All seems to be going well until one day her son gets into a horrific accident. In the aftermath of the accident, while trying to pick up the pieces of her life and rebuild it, she meets a man named Tabu and develops an unlikely relationship with him.
Félicité being the proud and independent single woman that she is, unashamedly works as the singer of a bar in Kinshasa, Congo. The audience of the bar seems to be enthralled by her performance every night.
After her son gets into an accident, Félicité desperately tries to raise money for her son's operation. Tabu, a regular at the bar, offers to help Félicité and she reluctantly accepts. After Félicité's son returns from the hospital, Tabu becomes an unlikely source of support and comfort to him. The three of them soon become a family in the most unconventional sense.
The critics highly praised Véro's husky, double-espresso singing voice. The scenes that involve her singing in the bar are mesmerizing to watch. The film perfectly portrays the struggles every single mother must face, such as indifference from the system, harassment from men, and even cruelty from loved ones. The film also gives the audience an intimate view of the parts of Africa that are not usually portrayed in mainstream cinema.
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