FILM: XALA-OUSMANE SEMBENE(SENEGAL)

Ousmane Sembene's account of a post colonial African businessman is as angry and seething as it is humerus. It is viewed as one of the most important films in international Cinema. Xala in Wolof( the lingua franca of Senegal) means temporary sexual impotence. El Hadji, the protagonist is a Senegalese businessman who is about to take his third wife. This also coincides with the final negotiations for the independence of the country. The wedding takes place with much pomp and pageantry and includes a live band(The Etoile de Dakar) performing headed by the yet unknown Youssou N'dour who went on to become arguably the biggest African star in the west. The post colonial vibrancy of young Senegal versus the old traditional ways is a constant theme throughout the film and is embodied particularly by El Hadji's daughter, who is much opposed to polygamy and also by the fact that while most people speak in Wolof, it is sin to speak in the language in the halls of the chamber of commerce where they speak French  . El Hadji's wives are also considered at the beginning of the film. His first, and the mother of his grown children is quietly opposed but seems to have gotten used to the polygamous arrangement. As in most polygamous marriages, her physical needs are provided for but she is left to pasture emotionally. The second wife is outwardly opposed and it is appears likely at first that it is she who solicits the curse, The night of the wedding, El Hadji prepares to consummate the marriage, but alas all efforts are futile. He is seen,in one particularly comedic scene, with his face in his hands, the look of a man totally defeated.He is advised by his friends(including the president of the chamber of commerce) to seek out a marabout, or holy man in order to to get the curse lifted. The marabout advises him to put a small device in his mouth, bathe in holy water and crawl to his wife.The next morning, it is apparent that the curse has not been lifted. Again dejected, he is driven to his business place that sells only the finest foreign goods. On the way,his chauffeur tells him of the feats of his village marabout, assuring him that he can remove the Xala.  The man chants a few verses and the Xala is gone. However, the marabout advises him that even though he has removed it, it may not be gone forever as someone else can place it on him again.
               A separate story that takes place while El Hadji is getting himself cured, is the plight of a few beggars, lepers and a griot playing an xalam(a small west African lute,called an n'goni in Mali). These characters at first seem to be observers with no real presence or function in the plot. One man, obviously coming from a desert village where a drought has wrecked their crops for months has come in order to buy foodstuffs so that his people will not starve to death. His money is stolen and he finds himself among the beggars. El Hadji finds their presence quite irritating and orders the police to have them removed from across his business. They are taken in a very humorous  manner to a dusty park on the outskirts of Dakar. There, they have tea and dry bread and the village representative speaks of his plight. Meanwhile, El Hadji has bigger problems than sexual impotence. An import of expensive goods has not arrived as yet and his business his starting to tank. He asks a friend, a local merchant (who is enamored by his accountant and secretary)for a loan to help stave off creditors and hence bankruptcy. The man says that as much as he likes him, he really can't help. The president of the chamber of commerce tells him to go to the central bank and ask for a loan. He does but is again rejected. Business is not only tight for El Hadji, but for other members of the chamber as the Central Bank is very cautious about giving them loans.It is discovered  that this is mainly the effect of El Hadji's indiscretions,even though the other members are just as corrupt. It is also discovered that El Hadji's business ethic has something to do with the famine in the village. At the same time,his second wife, the more modern of the first two, has left him.  At a meeting with members of the chamber, a particularly agitated businessman(seen taking a fifteen percent cut in a deal at El Hadji's wedding ) demands that El Hadji be expelled. His open corruption is attracting unwanted attention and the banks are putting the squeeze on the others.A vote is held and El Hadji's fate is sealed. Further humiliation follows when, on the orders of the chamber,his Mercedes is seized. His secretary realizing that without the protection of the chamber, his business is finished ,bids him good luck and leaves also. El Hadji has to walk his mansion. On arrival,his third wife's mother informs him that the marriage is over and also leaves. At the same time,the beggars and lepers invade his home and immediately gorge themselves on food and drink. They take up occupancy in his living room where El Hadji confronts them. It is revealed that one of the beggars is actually a member of a once respected and wealthy family whose inheritance El Hadji stole. He was thrown in prison and lost his eyesight. He,it is revealed put the Xala on El Hadji in revenge. He reveals that the Xala can be easily removed but requires humiliating treatment: he is instructed to take off his shirt so that the people he has hurt may spit on him. He is adamant that this will not happen but recants when he realizes the only thing he may save is his virility. A wedding tiara is put on his head and the beggars begin to spit on him while his remaining first wife weeps silently in the background.
               In 1975,when the film was released, only a few African states remained under colonial rule. Yet independence in most cases became an absolute disaster. Many of the new nations had boundless resources yet most of their populations lived well under the poverty line. Sembene saw this as a stinging indictment against their rulers and this was the inspiration behind Xala. It is a seminal moment in world cinema and a must see.