“There are interesting ideas buried within the film, but Haroun never brings them together into a story that is as compelling as its premise suggests”
Playing in this year’s Toronto International Film Festival’s Centrepiece section is Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars, the latest film from veteran Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. The film, which also premiered at this year’s Berlinale in his first appearance in that festival’s competitive section, is set in northeastern Chad and mixes village realism, superstition, and fantasy. Haroun tells the story about a young woman, Kellou, caught between the expectations of her community and visions that connect her to the past and the future. On paper, it is an intriguing concept, but Haroun never brings his ideas together, which results in an inconsistent and poorly written film.
Kellou (Maïmouna Miawama) is a teenager who lives in a remote village with her father (Ériq Ebouaney) and stepmother. She goes to school, helps around the home caring for her baby sibling, has a best friend, Aicha (Brigitte Tchanegue), and is dating the tall and handsome Baba (Chris Assidjim Mbaihornom). It would seem that her life is rather decent for someone living in the village. However, superstitions and gossip about her grow worse. Kellou is called “a whore’s daughter,” and some people in the village say that she is the reason her mother died. Baba’s father tells his son that he deserves better than her.
The film opens with Kellou’s narration, as she states that it has been a year since major floods deluged the village. Water and mud surged through the area and swept people away. The images are shown through Kellou’s eyes and are just one of her many visions. Kellou is something of a clairvoyant, able to see events that have occurred in the past as well as events that have yet to happen. Between the existing negative superstitions surrounding her birth and her visions, Kellou is already somewhat removed from village life.
Things worsen when newborn babies begin dying in the village. In fact, five have died in a row. The village chief blames the return of a villager named Aya (Achouackh Abakar Souleymane). Aya had been the village midwife for years and had helped deliver Kellou when she was born. Because of Kellou’s mother’s death and possibly other children and mothers dying in childbirth, the village believes Aya is responsible. With all of the recent deaths occurring after her return, they claim that she has brought a curse back to the village. The chief tells Aya to leave, but she stands her ground and states that she will not leave because the village belongs to her too. For Kellou, outside of her father, Aya appears to be the person who knew her mother best, and she immediately gravitates toward her despite Aya becoming a persona non grata.
This all seems like a fascinating concept, but Haroun never delivers on it. The visions, superstitions, and even the local political concerns do not feel fully realized or thought out. The plot is often difficult to piece together beyond its broad strokes. The visions move between the past and future, but they do not create a cohesive plot or ultimately cohere into anything particularly meaningful. This is coupled with the stubbornness and immaturity of Kellou’s character, who often comes across as overly aggravating and, at times, unbelievably headstrong.
The writing and plotting are the major faults of Haroun’s film. He struggles to balance the realism of the village with the fantasy of Kellou’s visions. The two elements never quite intertwine to create a satisfying story, or even one that remains consistently engaging throughout its runtime. Some ideas are not fully thought out, while various inconsistencies and even practical matters make little sense. Haroun is still a veteran and skilled director who has had numerous films grace the international festival circuit. GrisGris (2013) and Lingui (2021) competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, A Screaming Man (2010) won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Dry Season won the Special Jury Prize at Venice in 2006. Given his experience, it is disappointing to see him struggle to create even a somewhat compelling story.
Despite this, Haroun is still highly proficient behind the camera. He is able to competently create stunning sequences and individual scenes. Late in the film, in a completely unexpected shift, he moves the story to the gorgeous Ennedi Plateau, where he and cinematographer Mathieu Giombini create beautiful and vibrant images that give the film a needed jolt in its closing act.
The film also attempts to discuss the unfairness of village prejudices and rules, the treatment of outsiders and immigrants, and even environmental destruction. These are all important subjects, but Haroun never focuses on any of them enough for them to be more than afterthoughts. Even with the beautiful imagery and its attempt to tackle important topics, Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars cannot overcome its weak character development and unfocused script. There are interesting ideas buried within the film, but Haroun never brings them together into a story that is as compelling as its premise suggests.