Adanggaman

Name: Adanggaman
Genre: Drama
Released: July 11, 2001
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 70
Cast: Albertine N'Guessan, Rasmane Ouedraogo

2001

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Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

New Yorker Films | Release Date: July 11, 2001 | Unrated

Starring: Albertine N'Guessan, Rasmane Ouedraogo

Summary: Set in the late 17th century on the Western coast of Africa, Adanggaman is a provocative retelling of the African slave experience, based on historical facts. (Film Forum)

Director: Roger Gnoan M'Bala

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Unrated

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

Loren King

The film's disturbing images are presented matter-of-factly, which makes them more powerful, not less. Read full review

A.O. Scott

The narrative motion is tricky; first it canters, then shifts into a heady, quick gallop. What's most fascinating about Adanggaman are the scenes that feel like anecdotal rest stops but that are actually building into a nuanced and engrossing whole. Read full review

Jami Bernard

This one uses sweeping compositions of nearly solitary figures as a reminder of what individuals stood to lose, and an auction scene is horrifying -- some livestock and a basket of everyday items are exchanged for a man's future. Read full review

Michael Atkinson

Ostensibly factual, helplessly self-conscious -- Adanggaman is being touted as the continent's first film about slavery as it was experienced on African soil—where the victims and enslavers were both native peoples. Read full review

John Petrakis

The film doesn't always take advantage of its dramatic potential (except for its strong soundtrack), as it relies too heavily on scenes of crazed warriors in makeup and costume, running and screaming and jumping up and down. Read full review

Lou Lumenick

Well-acted and nicely photographed, and has good action sequences, even if the screenplay (by M'Bala, Jean-Marie Adiaffi and Bertin Akaffou) is simplistic and there are slow stretches. Read full review

David Rooney

Dramatically naive at times, but still represents a refreshingly ambitious, imaginative film in a period of creative underachievement for African cinema. Read full review

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