Riveting French Film ‘Souleymane’s Story’ Follows Immigrant Deliveryman as He Navigates Paris and Asylum Status

An immigrant food deliveryman realizes the elderly man at the apartment door is not doing well. The young man offers to help the older one to his dinner table and, once there, makes sure he’s alright. Before leaving, he is asked by the senior about where he’s from and he replies Guinea. The older man laments how the country is so far away, with the younger acknowledging that he hasn’t been back. As one man is consumed with thoughts of the past and home; the other puts it out of his mind. This scene, which occurs about a half-hour into “Souleymane’s Story,” is indicative of the subtle dynamics director Boris Lojkine brings to nearly every moment of his bracing film. Through his singular look at a non-French resident of Paris, the drama humanizes those often unnoticed deliverers who zip around the world’s cities on their bikes to get us our meals. In addition to his job, Mr. Lojkine focuses on Souleymane’s status as an asylum seeker, depicting two days in the life of our hero as he prepares for his official interview at the French agency for refugees and stateless persons.The notion of Souleymane being a “hero” is complicated, though, by his rehearsing a backstory that’s not his own, concocted by a fellow Guinean helping him with his application and documentation. This complication keeps the character, despite novice actor Abou Sangaré’s sad eyes and good-guy demeanor, from being an example of the “perfect immigrant.” Desperate to secure asylum status, he attempts to memorize a fabricated narrative, one more political than his actual reasons for leaving the unstable country. Mr. Lojkine includes a scene in which a female Guinean refugee recounts her distressing experience in a forced marriage, possibly to refute claims that many asylum seekers make up reasons for leaving their home countries. Yet the story’s veracity is unclear, despite its approximation to the kind of treatment young women often experience in Africa. Later in the film the limited opportunities afforded to females is also illustrated when Souleymane encourages his girlfriend back home to marry a suitor. Abou Sangaré in ’Souleymane’s Story.’ Via Kino LorberThe film’s first act is primarily taken up with his deliveries, with the cinematography and editing breathlessly capturing the speed and even danger involved. Viewers might be reminded of recent Oscar-winner Sean Baker’s “Take Out” from 2004, in which the filmmaker dramatized the life of an undocumented Chinese deliveryman in Manhattan. Times have changed, though, and not only does Souleymane have to contend with timing, traffic, and fussy customers, but now he must also deal with digital apps and corporate indifference. When the food service company suddenly cancels his account, which was registered under the name of a friend who is able to work officially, Souleymane must find said friend in order to get paid. Our protagonist heads to another neighborhood, one more modern-looking than the City of Light’s historic, affluent center where he makes his deliveries. The film’s pace lags a bit during this middle section, despite all the hurried walking and mass transiting, though resonant moments still abound, such as when he is approached by two recently arrived immigrants from the Ivory Coast asking for help in finding a job.“Souleymane’s Story” culminates in its third act with the asylum interview. During a scene lasting roughly 15 minutes, Mr. Sangaré’s unpolished yet riveting acting, which won an award in the Un Certain Regard section at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, really shines through. As the character tells the evaluator his invented background, he imparts it convincingly and even embellishes. But the agent has heard similar stories of political persecution before, and when she questions him regarding some points, the tale collapses. The exhausted and aching Souleymane ultimately relates his real story, in which the director integrated details from the actor’s own life, and it’s just as compelling as the fabricated one, with the actor’s persistent small head shakes and hesitations reflecting shame and an unwillingness to remember traumatic events — a soul in torment, essentially. One can see the influence of the great Dardenne brothers (“Two Days, One Night,” “The Promise”) on Mr. Lojkine, particularly in the immediacy of the location shooting and the constant movement of the character in the first two acts. Another similarity is that the director addresses contemporary issues, with depictions of the city’s displaced and homeless speaking to wider EU problems with immigration and economic stagnation. Still, in spite of its bleak topicality and serious tone, one comes away from the film almost optimistic, believing Souleymane will be granted asylum and hoping for the best for his fellow survivors and foreign strivers in their quests for safety and opportunity.

Riveting French Film ‘Souleymane’s Story’ Follows Immigrant Deliveryman as He Navigates Paris and Asylum Status

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