Jungle prison-set movie unleashes layers of legend
In writer/director Philippe Lacôte’s astonishing film
“Night of the Kings,” a young man (Bakary Koné) walks into a notorious jungle prison, MACA, with its own systems of law and order. Over the course of one night, he will have to step into his own untapped power to survive, becoming a storyteller at the behest of Blackbeard (Steve Tientcheu), the Dangôro, or leader of the inmates. While the inmates gather, the warden intones that this is the only prison in the world run by an inmate. What unfolds is an event, and a film, wholly singular and unique, a cinematic snapshot of a nation’s history within this self-contained film.
“Night of the Kings” is the
Ivory Coast’s submission for the Best International Feature Oscar, with a place on the Academy’s shortlist for nominations. It’s Lacôte’s second film to earn the honor, as his 2014 film “Run” was also selected to represent the West African nation. He packs in an incredible amount of character development and world-building into the 92-minute run time of “Night of the Kings,” which is a relatively simple setup that unfolds layers and layers of lore, legend, spirituality and political context.
When this young man enters MACA, he is immediately designated the “Roman,” or the storyteller, for a long, ritualistic night of oration. His role is part of an intricate web of hierarchies in the prison. At the top is Blackbeard. Blackbeard is sick and presumably dying, and as prison custom dictates, the Dangôro is impelled to kill himself when he’s too sick to lead. A power struggle has erupted over his successor, and Blackbeard’s calling of the Night of the Roman is a stalling tactic.
Blackbeard’s loyal lieutenant, Half-Mad (Jean Cyrille Digbeu) serves as the emcee, and hopes to be named successor. Lass (Abdoul Karim Konaté) is the would-be usurper, hoping to grasp Blackbeard’s power for his own profit. The architecture of the prison, a mysterious hook and the horde of inmates loom menacingly before Roman, demanding a tale to sate their hunger for story, ritual and potentially, blood.
As Roman tentatively takes his place at the center of the crowd and lifts his soft voice,
the evening becomes a participatory blend of pep rally and preaching, peppered with improvisational dance, song, chanting, taunting and prayers. Roman, who was raised by his griot aunt in the slum of Lawless Quarter, taps into his heritage and tells the story of Zama
King, the leader of his gang, the Microbes (a reference to the Brazilian film “City of God,” he
mentions). Roman spins a yarn wrapped in myth, fantasy and the turbulent recent political history of the Ivory Coast.
What happens in “Night of the Kings” is a piece of traditional oration and impermanent art, significantly marked by both its temporal and improvisational qualities. It’s both a power struggle and a ritual practiced by the collective within a microcosm of society housed under the oppression of the state, and a powerful demonstration of the transporting, and liberating, power of narrative.
MPAA rating: R (some violent material, language and nudity) Running time: 1:32
Where to watch: In theaters Feb. 26 and video on demand March 5.
South in today’s deal was Michal Klukowski, from
Poland, who has several World Championships to his credit despite still being under 30 years of age. He currently lives in Switzerland and plays for one of the world’s top professional teams.
We are not sure as to the meaning of North’s three-club bid, but they were not playing a standard system and it must have been something descriptive about his hand. It certainly did not ask Klukowski to make the most ridiculous bid he could think of.
Klukowski covered the jack of diamonds lead with dummy’s queen, winning the trick as East correctly withheld his king. A diamond to the ace was ruffed by West, and dummy won the heart shift, perforce, with the ace.
Klukowski then ruffed a diamond with the nine of spades. The contract would still have had decent chances if West had been able to over-ruff with the queen, but West discarded a heart instead.
Klukowski cashed the ace of spades and crossed to dummy with the king of spades. He left the queen of spades outstanding and ruffed another diamond, felling the king. He crossed back to dummy with the ace of clubs and started to cash dummy’s established diamonds, discarding two clubs. East could ruff whenever he liked, but he could not prevent Klukowski from taking 10 tricks. Well played!