No, not the romantic Johnny Depp movie but the first work by Claire Denis. Slightly based upon her own experiences as a kid the movie centers on the exorbitant life of the French colonists in Cameroon of the 1950′s. The relation between the Cameroon help Protée and the kid France is lovely and moving. Then there’s the beautiful mother Aimée with whom Protée is in love but she’s far unreachable to him as a servant.
The stills I choose don’t really reflect the story well and they kind of glorify the colonist lifestyle. I don’t approve of that but at least in this movie they’ve got quite some style. A lot of khaki pants, shorts and work shirts are worn by the French and they drive nice off road cars like the Jeep CJ2-A. Righteously it’s the servant Protée, played by the great Bankolé, who is without a doubt the coolest in his tanktop and shorts.
