Tamango

"Tamango" is a rousing and intelligent tale of a slave ship revolt in the 18th century. It strives to avoid transparent moralizing and overt stereotypes, particularly by placing the gorgeous Dorothy Dandridge in the pivotal role of the Captain's mistress. She must decide whether to send him to his certain demise among her fellow Africans (as Leonard Maltin avers, it's way ahead of its time). Perhaps this even-handedness is not all that surprising given the fact that it was directed by the blacklisted John Berry, who found refuge in France after helming several sensitive films noirs about the urban American underclass.

Most references give the film's literary source as a novella by French author Prosper Merimée. However, I recently stumbled upon an article in the "New York Times" (August 24, 2005) concerning a South African archaeologist who is combing a beach off Cape Horn for the wreck of a Dutch slave ship named the Meermin. The history given of this particular ship is pretty much a blow-by-blow description of this film (apart from the miscegenation), even down to the very details of how the slaves were given their chance, and how the surviving crew foiled them at one point. I can't remember if the film acknowledges any true-to-life origins, but this shivery narrative certainly lends the movie even more credence.

Arguably more interesting as a social document and a step forward in mainstreams films dealing with race, than as a drama.

On a slave ship carrying Africans from their homeland to slavery in the American south, a charismatic young warrior attempts to organize a revolt. Meanwhile, Dorothy Dandridge plays captain Curt Jurgens' mistress, featuring interracial kissing and sexuality at a time very few American films would go near the subject. Add in the complexity that Dandridge's subjugated Lucy is a far more empathetic figure than any white character, and that Tamango and his fellow captives are show to be in every way – morally, strategically as well as physically better than their white captors, and you have a film that was way ahead of it's time.

That said there is odd flat quality in the drama and less than thrilling acting and film-making that keep the actual story from living up to it's potential. But it's still pretty involving, and worth seeing at least as a part of films' maturing around racial issues.

Interestingly, blacklisted director John Berry, went on to direct another racially 'ahead of it's time' film; 1974's "Claudine", one of the first mainstream American films to try and intelligently deal with the struggles of poor urban African Americans without falling into exploitation, violence or cliché.

Captain Reiker (Curd Jürgens) loads a new shipment of slaves destine for Cuba. Tamango (Alex Cressan), the lion hunter, tries to lead a revolt but most slaves are only farmers. Aiché (Dorothy Dandridge) is a slave owned by the Captain. Doctor Corot (Jean Servais) is a Frenchman conflicted about slavery.

It's a black empowerment movie. There is a fascinating scene with Reiker haggling with the chief over his payment. The actors are all terrific. I do question about escaping into the cargo hold. If there are fewer escaped slaves, then a quick retreat may make more sense. While the final ending makes poetic sense, it's not the most action-filled possible. Aiché is still great and her decision is extremely powerful. The most impressive part may be when this movie was released. It's in the era of Sydney Poitier, the heroic but non-threatening black. This is different and that's great.

Prosper Mérimée is considered a classic French writer and this adaptation of his short story «Le Vit envié de l'esclave» (also known as «Colomba») is rightly described as a forerunner of «Roots». Alex Cressan, in the title role, is a famous French athlete and wrestler who never appeared in another film. According to critic Franço Moriac, Mr Cressan wanted his part to be so «true to life» that he insisted upon not wearing any undergarments and be just clad in a minute and very loose loincloth. This detail is apparent in his dance (voodoo?) sequence when he ends up by falling on the deck of the ship. I was too busy admiring the beauty of the late Miss Dandridge when this happened. But my wife was not...

I was quite impressed with this film, mostly for the incredible strides forward it made in portraying the horrors of the slave trade and horrific abuse of the kidnapped and enslaved Africans. The epic miniseries Roots, two decades later, and Spielberg's Amistad some 40 years after this film offer more detail and arguably higher production values, but Tamango is well worth watching, especially for those keen on either film or world history. Like another reviewer, I found the acting a little flat, despite the presence of the talented Curd Jurgens and Dorothy Dandridge. But the performances of all were engaging enough for me to want to stick with it to see the resolution of the conflicts. I was also very impressed to see the relationship between CJ's and DD's characters, at a time in the US when white mobs were trying to prevent children of different colors from going to school together, and a decade before the US Loving case forced states to accept marriages between people of different colors.