Review: ‘Our Father, The Devil’ thoughtfully explores the complexity of trauma
‘Our Father, The Devil’ is the powerful story of a woman who cannot escape the violence of her past and must choose between forsaking it or reverting to it.
Trauma is a wound no one ever truly escapes. For some, it’s a festering sore that only gets worse and leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms. For others, it’s like a scar that can fade as they move past it and grow beyond it, but it’s always there. The smallest reminder — a smell, sound, word, gesture, feeling — can result in re-injury and reliving that terrible experience. Sleep brings nightmares as the mind tries to repair itself, serving as reminder that is difficult to avoid. In Our Father, The Devil, a young woman is confronted by her painful past, which threatens to destroy the new life she’s built.
Marie (Babetida Sadjo) is the head chef at a retirement home, where she works non-stop and finds solace in bringing her culinary mentor specially prepared meals. Her best friend is a nurse (Jennifer Tchiakpe) in the same facility and the bartender (Franck Saurel) at her favourite hangout has a crush on her. Nothing is perfect, but it’s going well. However, all of this is jeopardized when she’s struck by the voice of a man (Souleymane Sy Savane) from her past — a man who is supposed to be dead and definitely shouldn’t be spreading the word of God to her charges. Repeatedly overwhelmed by his presence, it’s just a matter of time before the dam breaks and her emotions take over.
Ellie Foumbi’s feature directorial debut is a tense psychological thriller that deals with a very difficult and emotionally-wrought subject. The tales of child soldiers are generally confined to documentaries and biopics that attempt to capture the horrors of their reality, which centres on death and destruction. It’s rare that that trauma and its everlasting impact is depicted in fictional narratives, though it too carries the potential to convey the suffering they endure. It’s clear at the film’s start that Marie has lived a troubled existence, which has kept her on guard most of her adult life. She is distrustful and finds it difficult to connect with people, though there are a few exceptions that prevent her from living wholly alone.
Sadjo’s portrayal is very nuanced as she convincingly carries the weight of Marie’s emotional and physical scars. There’s a noticeable change when this ghost from her past arrives, as the woman who’s strived so hard for a normal life suddenly appears to be losing hope that such a thing is even possible. She grows more vulnerable, first in a way that oppresses her, but then in a manner that allows her to release all the horrors she’s bottled up for so long. The burden of his transgressions and the sins she committed in his service push her to the brink of fear and desperation. In the meantime, Sy Savane must walk a fine line as a priest unaware of Marie’s secret accusations and a potentially innocent victim of her rage as he swears it’s a case of mistaken identity.
The film does not unfold predictably as Marie grapples with the person she was, the person she thought she’d become and the concept of forgiveness, struggling with whom she must forgive and debating if it’s warranted. Her actions are contradictory and it’s difficult to know what she’ll do next. Consequently, the film’s conclusion doesn’t follow any formula or expectations, yet it delivers a fitting end.
Director: Ellie Foumbi
Starring: Babetida Sadjo, Souleymane Sy Savane and Jennifer Tchiakpe
