Book Review: The African Doctor (2016)

[James Marinero]

Title: The African Doctor

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Director: Julien Rambaldi

Cast: Marc Zinga, Aïssa Maïga, Jonathan Lambert, Rufus, Bayron Lebli, Médina Diarra, Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Kamini Zantoko, Stéphane Bissot, Marie-Philomène Nga, Mata Gabin, Diogène Ntarindwa, Jean Bediebe, Narcisse Mame, Sylvestre Amoussou, Frédérick Bukolé, Tatiana Rojo, Marius Yelolo, Micheline Dieye, Riton Liebman, Thomas Vandenberghe, Édith Le Merdy, Stéphanie Crayencour, Jean-Marie Barbier, Vincent Martin, Jean-Michel Balthazar, Michel Schillaci, Bwanga Pilipili, Stéphane Brodzki, Christophe Lambert, Laurent Caron, Ingrid Heiderscheidt, Jovial Mbenga, Emilie Rouhart, Vincent Lecuyer, Sébastien Waroquier, Bernard Eylenbosch

Release: 2016-06-08

Runtime: 96

Plot: Seyolo Zantoko is a doctor from Congo who wants to get away from dictatorship and he is hired by the mayor of a small village in the north of France. The locals fear Seyolo and his family as they have never seen African people before, and Seyolo and his family struggle to adapt to this new life. But Seyolo is determined to succeed and to win the trust of the villagers.

 

[James Marinero]

A thoroughly enjoyable true story about small-town attitudes and xenophobia in rural France. Many laughs and happy moments, but also a painful mirror for me to look into - uncomfortable reflections. When I was a small boy in a small West Wales town, the only black people we saw came out of coal mines.

I hate these 5 point rating schemes - I know that they work when averaged over many voters, but for me this warranted more than 4 stars, but not 5. I wish they'd change to 9 stars and give a bit more granularity. Sorry, rant.

A lovely film, the sort that every school child should see. Enjoy it. Seen on Netflix