★★★☆☆
Rafiki Fariala makes his narrative feature debut with Congo Boy, a coming-of-age drama that is off-balance, torn between the film it wants to be and the one it thinks it needs to be.
The film follows Robert, a 17-year-old boy whose parents are thrown in jail amid a civil war that is tearing his country apart.
He is left to look after his siblings while being pressured to work, finish school, and go to college to become a doctor like his father.
Although he has aspirations of his own, they don’t involve following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a doctor.
This is where the script gets muddled and hazy.
Penned by Rafiki Fariala, Boris Lojkine, and Tommy Baron, the script tries to capture two sides of the same story, enriching the story but drowning the narrative.
The story starts off with intent and a clear narrative, crafting a character drama centered on a struggling teenager with talent and a dream to make that talent his winning lottery ticket.
It’s not an uncommon story, but rather a genuine one. It’s very similar to Funk, another music-driven coming-of-age story about an MC trying to pursue the dream of becoming a professional MC that is currently playing the festival circuit.
While Congo Boy is similar in concept, the structure is what sets it apart. One of its biggest strengths is also one of its biggest weaknesses.
Instead of allowing the film to follow suit with all the musician-based films that have come before it, Congo Boy puts the music on the back burner, like a daydream that is just out of reach but always there.
Fariala takes the focus off the dream and forces the audience back into reality.
Which is where the narrative feels torn. While most of the film is grounded in the morbid reality of his day-to-day life, the music and the passion aren’t there for almost half of the film.
Congo Boy shows us early on that he has what it takes to be a real MC and perform. But then it takes a detour into the reality of his situation, and instead of it being the backdrop of his story, it becomes his story.
While the script is off-balance, the direction isn’t. Fariala takes what doesn’t work on paper and transforms it into a well-paced, evenly toned picture.
“Fariala takes what doesn’t work on paper and transforms it into a well-paced, evenly toned picture.”
Allowing what doesn’t work narratively to work emotionally.
During the long stretches focused on the day-to-day reality of life, he captures the horrifying reality and struggles with more conviction than he does the MC moments.
Making the transition between the two worlds almost incompatible, as the passion and drive he feels become unrecognizable. The music feels like an afterthought instead of the centerpiece that drives him.
Adrien Lallau’s cinematography is intentional and insightful, used to help create emotion and establish the pacing, ranging from what appears to be dolly shots to handheld camera work.
“Adrien Lallau’s cinematography is intentional and insightful, used to help create emotion and establish the pacing.”
It establishes tone and consistency. The loose shots create a feeling of unease while also allowing the audience to create a connection with the narrative.
The first time he performs on stage is a clear example of this. The camerawork is loose yet steady at first before slowly becoming more engaged with the scene and moving in sync with the music, score, and sound.
“The loose shots create a feeling of unease while also allowing the audience to create a connection with the narrative.”
With good performances throughout, Congo Boy works in the sense of telling the story it set out to tell, but it fails to captivate and really drive the film as a whole home.
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