nah,i’ll go the the easy way because i really want to see more votes on this match,India and Africa struggled in some matches with the lack of participation.probably the first time i vote against India.
(i’ll keep it short this time)
Ekti Nadir Naam 0 – Faraw! 1
Ascofare’s film already has become a 1997 favorite…perhaps the scenario of independence and aye,social justice is well-told by many angles all these cinematic decades,but unlike with the poetry of Singh’s so far only film (which i’ll also vote as one of the top 10 emotional duos in this WC),my vote leans towards the political side of this film battle.
Jana Aranya 0 – Yaaba 0
could have Ouedraogo been a loose influence to the twisted fairytales of Kirikou a decade later? (of course the animation films were filled with sexual symbols something i can’t say for the humanity this little child hides within him) a definite tie because Ray’s urban elegy is too good to be ignored even if this weren’t one of my tops like Charulata or the recently seen Days and Nights in the Forest.
Jukti, Takko Aar Gappo 0 – Samt el qusur 1
Ghatak’s self-inducing wretchedness….i’ll have to finish Ghatak’s filmography before i say that but this essayist biography/dreamscape overcomes the conventionalism of a swan song….unfortunately,it was qualified against one of my first entries in art-house films: it might reminisce the lavishness of a Green Papaya but there’s more undercurrent brutality in Tlatli’s brooding musical notes.
The Middleman (Satyajit Ray) 1 – Yaaba (Idrissa Oedraogo) 0
The Name of a River 1 Faraw! Mother of the Dunes 0
The Middleman 1 Yaaba 0
Reason, Debate and a Story 0 Silences of the Palace 1
The Name of a River 1 – Faraw! Mother of the Dunes 0
The most difficult choice for me in the semi-finals has been made more difficult since I would much rather see the African nation of Africa in the finals. I have to vote my conscience. Faraw is good, The Name of a River is special.
The Middleman 1 – Yaaba 0
Yaaba is a decent movie. The Middleman has been my favorite Ray that I have seen in this competition.
Reason, Debate and a Story 0 – Silences of the Palace 1
Silences of the Palace is easily my favorite in this match.
Current scores:
The Name of a River 9 Faraw! Mother of the Dunes 5
The Middleman 11 Yaaba 1
Reason Debate and a Tale 2 Silences of the Palace 11
The Name of a River 1 – Faraw! Mother of the Dunes 0
Reason, Debate and a Story 0 – Silences of the Palace 1
I decided not to watch The Middleman for this because I didn’t have a chance to see Company Limited and I felt rushing to the end of another trilogy (after having not seen the middle film of Ghatak’s either) would be a bad idea, especially as The Adversary is one of my favorite films ever. Yaaba was beautiful however.
Thank you to Blue K and Marc for your uniformly brilliant array of films. When we started this event, I could never envision we would be asked to choose between a Malian and a Bengali film (in fact, three). While Faraw! was actually my least favorite of the four I voted on and the five I saw (even Xie Jin’s Red Detachment… humanized the cruel landlords more believably, and thus was stronger in its message) it was unlike any other film I’ve seen from Mali or the African continent, and I personally think while we can say some films are well or poorly made, or even disagree completely with their social statements, criticizing any artists (esp. in regions like Bangladesh and Mali) for engaging in “social commentary” is idiotic.
damn,once again,minimal participation for both of these teams’ average voting countdown…
MATCH OVER
INDIA WIN 2-1 AND MEET CHINA IN THE FINAL
Many thanks to Blue K for all the great uploading work throughout the competition as well as making us aware of so many hidden African treasures. “Faraw! Mother of the Dunes” was another wonderful discovery for me, and I can definitely say that the world cup made me curious to check out more sub-Saharan cinema.
Well done Apursansar and commiserations Blue, losing a semi final is notoriously gutting! You’ve done a fantastic job, far surpassing expectations and i think African cinema has been the great discovery of the tournament
Congratulations Apursansar! You helped the country which was most ignored as a film country in the last 20 years.
RESULT
INDIA 2 AFRICA 1
The Name of a River 10 Faraw! Mother of the Dunes 5
The Middleman 11 Yaaba 1
Reason Debate and a Tale 2 Silences of the Palace 12
India 23 votes Africa 18 votes
“You helped the country which was most ignored as a film country in the last 20 years.”
and many more Rudiger…and many more ;)
Congratulations Marc and Blue K, thanks for those amazing line ups.
I’m so pleased India and China got through, and so sad Africa and Japan got knocked out. Great selections from all the managers. I’ve enjoyed their selections immensely all the way through. Well done all of you.
Congratulations to Team India. The team with the greater cinematic tradition and the better manager won out as it should have been. I made the fatal error of going with Yaaba, a film that I personally did not like very much but chose because of the fact that it had some critical and box office success in France and the US in the 90s. So I deserved the loss.
Anyway, it’s been a fun run. Thanks to everyone who participated and of course to Apursansar. The Name of a River was an absolutely stunning selection.
Kenji
current scores
The Name of a River 7 Faraw! Mother of the Dunes 4
The Middleman 8 Yaaba 1
Reason Debate and a Tale 2 Silences of the Palace 8
well, it looks like Satyajit Ray is heading to have the most wins by a director in the tournament, would be 5 out of 6. Ray and the unbeaten Mizoguchi, Bunuel and Tarkovsky have been the most successful.
and at least turnout has reached into the 30s..well, it is the semi-final, thanks for all the loyal participants, and the usual insightful comments Joe, much valued.