Saloum



Three mercenaries are escorting a drug smuggler out of Guinea-Bissau after a coup. During their escape they realize that their airplane is quickly losing fuel due to a breach in the hull and are forced to land. One of the mercenaries knows of a hidden resort on the Saloum river of  Senegal, and the four men decide to take refuge there long enough to rest and get supplies to repair their plane. But while they’re there an act of revenge unleashes a darkness upon them and the other inhabitants of the resort far worse than any police official or army they could ever hope to pull off.



Saloum is an African crime/horror/western/thriller from 2021 from Congolese filmmaker Jean Luc Herbulot. What makes the movie interesting is that it mixes so many genres together that the film sort of feels like it took the ‘kitchen sink’ approach to their story. Which is something that sounds like it shouldn’t work, and in less creative hands probably wouldn’t have, but in this case was blended rather seamlessly together to form a unique and rather compelling story. Add in the clear African folk influences and you have a very distinctive film that manages to stand on its own while also clearly wearing its many inspirations on its sleeve.



Honestly, this is the kind of movie that really takes you for a ride. The film quickly goes from war film, to spaghetti western, to some sort of crime-mystery-drama, and then right into supernatural action. It’s quite a trip, let me tell you. So while the pacing can be a little slow at times as the story and character motivations are slowly revealed, the genre changes still manage to keep you engaged throughout, since you’re never quite sure what the movie is going to throw at you next.



But while the constant genre changes are something that, at least on paper, sound like they’d be a rather poor idea to attempt, the story and characters manage to be so good that it works almost flawlessly. And I say almost, because while I feel like the supernatural horror part at the end works, it also could have used a little more build up so that the audience could have a bit of a better understanding about exactly what was going on and what they were fighting against. And I’m not saying it’s not explained, I’m just saying it could have used a little more detail. Especially for those of us not familiar with local customs, histories and stories. But even without that it still works. And frankly, the story is so good that I think if they had gone in a completely different direction at the end, like shifted into something like a murder mystery or even some sort of convoluted espionage escape plan, that it still would have worked and I still would have ended up liking the movie.



It also helps that on the technical side the film is near flawless. The cinematography is beautiful, the colors pop when they want it to and you can tell all the imagery they chose to use was carefully planned out and executed. It also doesn’t hurt that the scenery and landscapes they chose to feature are all breathtakingly beautiful, even when featured during the more somber moments. The acting of course is also great, with the only characters you end up not feeling for or appreciating being the side characters, aka: the auxiliary victims. The only ding against the film lies in some of the special effects involved with the… I guess you’d call them swarms of insects. Those can sometimes look a bit rough. But then again, if you’ve ever seen an actual swarm of insects, especially really BIG ones, then you know that even the real ones can look pretty strange and otherworldly, so I’m not really sure how much better they could have made things like that look.





I think the only other thing I should note, at least for those who care about such things, is that, odds are, you’re going to have to read subtitles to watch this, as the film is a mix of French, Wolof, and sign language. So unless you’re one of the few people who can understand all three fluently, then you’re going to have to do some reading. But other than that, I can’t recommend Saloum enough. It looks great, sounds great, and the story and characters manage to keep you engaged throughout. So overall I think it’s a really fun and captivating film, even if you don’t like any of the genres I mentioned. Cause lord knows I don’t like some of the genres I mentioned, and yet I still ended up enjoying it. I’m sure it’s not going to be for everybody, but if you’re looking for something new and different to watch then you should definitely give this movie a try.

Saloum is available on a variety of streaming services (many for free).

Saloum is also available on Bluray.

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