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Such a frustrating disappointment

Powerful

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The clash of the transportation and classes is sharply mapped out in this short. I watched this some time ago but just tonight viewing "Mandabi" by the same director reminded me of this film, which was literally driven by the main "actor" (he never appeared in anything else it seems, so maybe he really was a charioteer in un-reel life??).His emotions on screen at the cemetery gate and in being soul serenaded, seem so authentic. His persistence in hitting the tracks and motivations to make the right move over making money, cannot help the viewer to root for him, when he finally gets what appears to be a big break. A rich powerful person offers him to help him out with an immense reward (i.e. similarities to Mandabi), the juxtaposition of their status, their clothing and even the physical forbidden aspect of the charioteer's home and the destination zone where he was to take his cart (I forget what the area was called, but it had that "gated community" without the visible gate feel).Short and powerful.

"Borom sarret" or "The Wagoner" is a Senegalese 20-minute black-and-white short film from almost 50 years ago. i read that this is seen as the first film ever made by a black filmmaker, but given the fact that Ousmana Sembene was already in his 40s when he made this one and made several other films before according to his IMDb filmography I am not too sure about that little fact. Anyway, the reason why I recommend his film here has nothing to do with first.timers anyway, but with this being a very solid 20-minute watch. The story is not particularly dramatic or edge-of-seat stuff, but it almost looks like a documentary instead. Make sure you get subtitles if you are not fluent in French. It's a very realistic depiction of everyday life in Senegal in my opinion. At least it looks that way. I cannot say I am particularly aware of what life in Senegal looked like back in the 1960s. Overall a thumbs-up and this one is worth checking out.

This film is included on the same DVD as "Black Girl"--another film from the Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene. And, like "Black Girl" it's a film with a strong African nationalist bent to it as the theme is about the exploitation of the poor by the established powers.The film begins with a devout poor man preparing for a hard day's work scrounging for work with his makeshift wagon. He doesn't have enough money for lunch and he leaves his family behind. For a while, he does pretty well--well enough to feed his family and call it a good day. However, later his day goes from bad to worse to worse--all due to several jerks. While the bad guys in this one are black Africans since the colonial system had been abolished in Senegal for about a decade, these are guys who have bought into the new class system. In other words, while the white overlords might be gone or at least not in power, things just haven't changed for the little man. The ending of this film is interesting and my assumption is that despite this being a decent and respectable family that the man's wife is going to prostitute herself to feel everyone--though it is NOT stated explicitly. I'd love to know if you felt the same way.Overall, this is a very simple film that is easy to see as an insignificant film. However, I see it as a strong protest against the same old system where the wealth and power are clearly not shared. Powerful and rather sad to watch.

20 minutes long. Black and white. Focusing on one cart driver. Sounds pretty c**p, huh? Wrong! The film makes excellent satirical points on the class divide, as well as providing some excellent, if somewhat crude, camera work. However, it's depth puts many movies to shame.