Saint Omer

Saint Omer is a 2022 French legal drama film directed by Alice Diop and starring Kayije Kagame and Guslagie Malanda. It is based on the true story of Fabienne Kabou, a mother who left her 15-month-old daughter on a beach to be drowned by the tide in 2013. The film follows Rama (Kagame), a pregnant novelist who attends the trial of Laurence Coly (Malanda), the fictionalized version of Kabou, to write a modern adaptation of the ancient Greek myth of Medea, who killed her children to punish her unfaithful husband.

Saint Omer is a powerful and nuanced exploration of the complex issues of motherhood, immigration, identity, and justice. Diop, known for her documentaries, brings a realistic and empathetic approach to the story, avoiding sensationalism and judgment. She also attended the real trial of Kabou in 2016, which inspired her to make the film. The film does not attempt to justify or condemn Coly's actions but rather to understand her motivations and circumstances.

The story is divided into two parts: the first one focuses on Rama's perspective as she observes the trial and interviews Coly in prison, while the second one shifts to Coly's flashback as she recounts her life in France and Senegal, her relationship with her partner and daughter, and her mental state leading up to the crime. The film contrasts Rama and Coly to highlight their similarities and differences as women of Senegalese origin living in France. Both face racism, sexism, isolation, and pressure from their families and society but have different privileges, opportunities, and choices.

The movie also draws parallels between Coly's story and the Medea myth, showing how both women are driven by love, betrayal, anger, and despair to commit an unthinkable act. The film uses references to Medea throughout, such as the names of the characters (Rama is an anagram of Mara, Medea's sister), the locations (Berck is similar to Corinth, where Medea killed her children), and the dialogue (Coly quotes lines from Euripides' play). The film also shows how Rama uses the myth to cope with her fears and doubts about becoming a mother.

Saint-Omer features excellent performances from the two lead actresses, who convey a range of emotions with subtlety and intensity. Kagame portrays Rama as a smart, ambitious woman who is also vulnerable and conflicted. Malanda portrays Coly as a tragic and complex figure who elicits sympathy and horror. The film also has a strong technical aspect, with beautiful cinematography by Claire Mathon (who also shot Portrait of a Lady on Fire), an atmospheric score by Thibault Deboaisne, and tight editing by Amrita David.

The one thing that undermines the greatness of Saint-Omer is the pacing. The first time I watched the film, I found the pacing unbearable. But, I decided to see it a second time, embraced the slowness, and found I was noticing aspects of the story I had missed the first time. I think, though, that the pacing will be a challenge for some viewers.

Saint Omer is a film that challenges us to think beyond the headlines and stereotypes and confront our biases and assumptions. The film raises questions without giving easy answers and invites empathy without condoning violence. It is a film that shows how art can be a way to deal with trauma and pain and how it can be insufficient or inadequate. It is a film that was with me long after it ended - the second time around.

Rama (Kayije Kagame), a Parisian of Senegalese heritage, is a literature professor and novelist. For a writing assignment, she travels to the French municipality of Saint-Omer to observe the infanticide trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a Senegalese immigrant. (Rama is the on-screen surrogate for director/co-writer Alice Diop who observed the real-life infanticide trial of Fabienne Kabou in 2016.)

Diop is very astute at creating tension in various scenes. This is especially so during an interrogation scene between the judge (Valérie Dréville) and the defendant early in the film. This scene is relatively long but Malanda and Dréville play it so perfectly that it becomes riveting rather than dull.

The character of the defendant is an enigma: at times, one can feel sympathy for her despite so much evidence against her. Her backstory is also fascinating regarding the pressures placed on her as a girl in Senegal whose mother demanded much of her regarding education choices and politeness all with the plans of Laurence having "a better life". Rama's response to the trial is also intriguing as she has trouble digesting noticeable similarities she has with the defendant.

The cast is superb in this film. In addition to Kagame, Malanda, and Dréville, there are also notable performances from Xavier Maly (Laurence's partner), Aurélia Petit (the defense attorney), and Salimata Kamate (Laurence's mother).

There are some loose ends in the film including the relationship between Rama and her mother but overall "Saint Omer" is one of the best courtroom dramas since the Israeli film "Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem" which was released in 2014. - dbamateurcritic

RATING: 9 out of 10

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Acting Ensemble.

The difference between passing judgement and serving justice is at the heart of this incredibly moving film. Laying open social issues surrounding isolation, education, assimilation, and culture, whilst taking them apart word by word is beautiful to watch. And extremely emotional to experience. With restraint and very few words, the story of two seemingly connected Senegalese women living in France cross roads with the mythical Medea in a tragic tale of loss. The actors are powerful and I found myself engrossed watching the film even more the second time around. This one is not for the faint hearted.

This was a fairly interesting courtroom drama about alienation and clashing cultures where certain parts of Coly's life were reflected in that of Rama's. Both women are Senegalese, are in interracial relationships, and have complex relationships with their mothers. Aside from a couple brief scenes here and there and a few quality close up shots, the film doesn't do a whole lot with Rama's connection to Coly. The scenes which occur outside of the courtroom which give us a personal look at how the court hearing is affecting Rama feel rushed through as the film is constantly eager to cut back to the lengthy courtroom sequences. Fortunately, what we get in that regard is quite thought provoking and layered. While watching it, I frequently thought about my experience reading "Native Son". While neither works attempt to apologize for the crimes of the respective characters in each, they instead portray the various factors which led to the crimes taking place and recontexualize the violent criminal trope which is used all too often and instead portray them more as everyday humans. The more Coly opens up throughout the film, the more we begin to understand the various factors which shaped her and led to her actions. The most telling bits for me was when her boyfriend (who's noticeably much older than her) was revealed to have gone through great lengths to hide Coly from his family and ignored her distress when she needed him the most. While understanding the nature of a crime is interesting though, so were the parallels between Coly and Rama. Given how much Rama's character existed on the outside edges of the film and how it kept seeming like we'd finally be given more to latch on to with her, there were some noticeable missed opportunities involved. The film had quite a lot of potential and capitalized on maybe 2/3 of it at best. Still though, the film sat decently well with me upon reflection and thinking about its themes and strategies later on was enjoyable. I think I preferred that over watching the film.

Alice Diop and her cast are truly amazing... In previous work (Vers la tendresse), she managed to capture some of the emotional struggles of young French men with a migratory background and living in economically deprived Parisian suburbs. In Saint Omer, she focuses on the emotional struggles of women from a similar background. This is the story of two daughters, Rama and Laurence. Rama is a symbol of the French meritocratic system. From a modest background and of African descent, she is a university professor and a successful novelist. We understand that her mother, probably a cleaning lady, used to leave home very early to go to work. Laurence, a former student in philosophy, passionate about Wittgenstein, "never wanted for anything". With the financial support of her parents, she emigrated from Senegal as a young adult to study in France. Laurence is being tried for killing her 15-month-old daughter and Rama is attending her trial. As she listens to Laurence, her chldhood, her relationship with her parents, and in particular her mom, Rama is brought to reflect and feel about her relationship with her own mother. Laurence and Rama are two highly assimilated women, materially standing on the sore shoulders of their respective mothers, and who have achieved a level of social success that is often denied to men from similar communities. And yet, deep down, both of them suffer from the (perceived?) lack of warmth and love of their mothers, with terrible consequences for Laurence and her relationship with her own daughter.

This is a story about parental love, and in particular between emotionally struggling mothers and their unseen daughters. It's not specific to any community or economic background. What, to me, makes it a true masterpiece, is the compassion we are left feeling for all these women.