Simultaneously gripping, disconcerting, and chaotic, Djibril Diop Mambéty?s Touki Bouki is an exhilarating cinematic ride. The 1973 drama ? the first full-length film by the Senegalese director ? is the fantastical narration of a young couple in Dakar, eager to escape the Senegalese capital for the allure of Paris. It?s a character-driven film in many ways, primarily centered on the couple?s adventures, but it is also a subtle visual examination of the urbanism of post-independence Dakar, where the city and its architecture are essential fixtures in a surreal storyline.

Abandoned house in "Touki Bouki". Image Courtesy of Janus Films
Simultaneously gripping, disconcerting, and chaotic, Djibril Diop Mambéty?s Touki Bouki is an exhilarating cinematic ride. The 1973 drama ? the first full-length film by the Senegalese director ? is the fantastical narration of a young couple in Dakar, eager to escape the Senegalese capital for the allure of Paris. It?s a character-driven film in many ways, primarily centered on the couple?s adventures, but it is also a subtle visual examination of the urbanism of post-independence Dakar, where the city and its architecture are essential fixtures in a surreal storyline.
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