ATLANTICS - 1/10/2023

Every love story is a ghost story.

Our fourth screening took us to Senegal along the Atlantic coast of Dakar to explore how French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop explores this season's theme, Beyond the Body, in her 2019 debut full-length Atlantics. 

Atlantics is a supernatural love story that tells the tale of Ada, a 17-year-old girl who is in love with Souleiman, a young construction worker. However, she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea, in the hope of a better future. Several days later, a fire ruins Ada’s wedding and a mysterious fever starts to spread. Little does Ada know that Souleiman has returned.

Diop's Atlantics is an intense young love story rooted in supernatural elements. It explores the post-colonial issues and complexity that are part of her personal connection to Senegal, among other things. The film is an excellent example of how cinema can be used to tell stories that are both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Many Aftersunettes were struck by the film's beauty and score. An example of this is how Diop shoots the sea. She elevates this already vast and mysterious body to a feeling of unease. A large mouth that swallows boats, bodies, dreams and even love. 

Some club members went on to debate the responsibility that filmmakers and artists have in their portrayal of love. They argued that it would be best to portray it in a way that doesn't encourage irrational and irresponsible decisions from those who consume art, while others applauded the beauty and comfort that can be found in a seemingly naive and reckless love that persists beyond death, beyond the body.  

However, it is hard to deny that this film is a mesmerizing and haunting tale of love, loss and migration that blends realism, romance and fantasy in a unique way. It's also a coming-of-age tale of a girl who yearns to break out of the gender roles forced on her by society and follow her love---if not for a man drifting at sea, for herself. 

Until next time!