L’Africain (1983)

L’Africain is a French adventure film first released in 1983, directed by Philippe de Broca.  The film stars Catherine Deneuve, Philippe Noiret, Jean-François Balmer, Jacques François and Jean Benguigui.  It has also been released under the title: The African.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


Far from the hustle and bustle of modern civilisation, Victor, a keen conservationist, has settled in an unspoiled area of East Africa.  One day, his ex-wife Charlotte arrives in the area to assess whether it is suitable for development as a holiday village.  Naturally Victor is opposed to the project, so he flies Charlotte and her devoted assistant Planchet to a remote area where he abandons them.  Desperate, the stranded couple find an old truck, which they manage to repair.  They then find themselves the target of Poulakis, a ruthless ivory poacher.  Realising the danger that his ex-wife is in danger, Victor comes to the rescue…

This well-paced adventure-comedy from Philippe de Broca takes an ironic swipe at colonialism and conservatism whilst offering a satisfying parody of the Hollywood African adventure sub-genre.  As is typical in Broca’s films (particularly the better ones), the comedy is skilfully restrained for the most part but with some occasional bursts of outlandish farce.  The film has an exotic location whose cinematic potential is exploited to the full – another characteristic of De Broca’s distinctive brand of cinema.  Whilst individually Philippe Noiret and Catherine Deneuve work well in the film it is hard to believe their two characters could ever have been man and wife.   Noiret’s ebullient performance is nevertheless a treat, combining wicked self-mockery and touching pathos.  Overall, an enjoyable film which is all the more amusing for its camp, tongue-in-cheek characterisation and rampant political incorrectness.

© James Travers 2004

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