Night of the Kings (2020)

Director: Philippe Lacôte
Stars: Bakary Koné, Steve Tientcheu, Jean Cyrille Digbeu
Runtime: 93 minutes

Synopsis: A young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners.

Verdict: Located in the depths of the African jungle lies an old, overcrowded, and clearly under-maintained edifice. “La Maca”, as they call it, is a prison unlike any you’ve encountered before. Not only does it violate every imaginable sanitary regulation on the planet, but it’s also run by a senior inmate labeled Dangoro who, as tradition states, must take his own life when he is struck by an illness. Barbe Noire, which is French for Blackbeard, knows that his reign as Dangoro has reached its end as he walks around with an oxygen bottle. But before he meets his demise, an opportunity to organize a night of storytelling presents itself. An opportunity he takes by forcing a newly incarcerated inmate to tell stories all night long if he wants to see the sun again. He nicknames him Roman, which translates to “novel”, and thus began what can best be described as a beautiful celebration of storytelling.

 By merging fiction and reality, Roman, even if it was for a fortnight only, managed to bring all the inmates together with his tales. For a few hours, all conflicts were set aside as they all gathered around him, only occasionally getting up to lyrically act out what he was describing. Peace and harmony suddenly took control of a very lively community that was anticipating chaos to settle in with the stepping down of their leader with no established heir. The inevitable civil war that was going to ensue was put on hold thanks to Roman’s gifts as a storyteller.

 It’s no surprise to me that the Ivorian film made its way to the Oscars shortlist for Best International Picture because it’s a magnificent ode to what Cinema is all about, which is bringing people together. Philippe Lacôte truly gifted us with a gem that we should under no circumstance allow to fly under our radars, and for that reason, I urge you to seek it out and give it a shot because it really is worthy of all the acclaim it’s generating.

FINAL GRADE: 7/10