Le petite vendeuse de soleil

Not a story, but a chapter of story in the life of a truly physically crippled child. This came across as a fine children's film.

To West African eyes (the original audience), the poverty depicted is an accepted reality. But to my American eyes, the poverty and plight of these children utterly overpowered the plot. More interesting than entertaining. Unforgettable on its own terms.

Great movie, hard for me to watch as a pampered American.

Sili seems to live the impossible - she makes her money then seems to pass out that money to not only her Grandmother, but everyone nearby. There is no way to tell if these people are family or simply neighbors.

I have some health problems. When Sili is knocked over by the boys, and one of her crutches falls in the water, the camera pans to Sili's electric smile. She is smiling at the thought of her friend jumping in the water to get her crutch, not thinking about the evil boys that just tried to harm her.

It is a smile that I want to cultivate for myself. The smile was insane in its origin, it came from inside the girl, not from her circumstance. I want to be that kind of insane. I want to smile on my worst days like I don't have a care in the world.

Being a poor and handicapped girl in a large West-African city guarantees a life full of hardship. But Sili is determined to take her fate into her own hands. She stops begging and starts to sell the newspaper 'le Soleil'. Although healthy boys dominate this business, she is immediately successful.

The atmosphere of the movie is slightly naïve; Sili successful stands up to policemen and even frees a woman who was imprisoned innocently. Although a bit fairytale-like, the girl Sili is indeed a worthy tribute to the street children of Dakar.

Sili, a young teenage street kid, decides to hit the streets and sell newspapers to make ends meet. The other newspaper boys don't like her moving on their territory and give her a hard time. This is an observing piece on street life poverty.

the movie is about the life of Sili, a young handicapped girl in Dakar, Senegal. it shows her struggles to earn a living in a world which is cruel yet can be wonderful too, if you have the courage and the go getter attitude to battle it out. i found her story to be very inspiring. also, you get to see dakar, senegal as it is now. a third world nation which is developing and yet at the same time the poverty which is present everywhere. highly recommended !!!

because IMDb requires even more commentary, here are some of my personal observations. even though the people are poor they are stoic about it. that is an uniquely African attitude. the frustration of individual's is contained within the body/soul until it comes out in a single anguished scream. or so it seems to me. also, the depiction of poverty in this movie is spot on. if you have never been to a third world country, well this will shock you, but it's totally realistic. actually, real life is much worse, the part where she flashes her money, in real life somebody would have taken it for sure. so the movie is kinda naive, but overall i liked the feel good message of the movie.