Clando

After an enigmatic opening, this political/psychological drama turns into an arresting portrait of a life thrown into turmoil by the pernicious actions of corrupt authorities. After computer programmer Anatole (Fodouop) is arrested and tortured for helping an anti-government group print leaflets, he becomes impotent both sexually and socially, reduced to working illegally as an unlicensed cab-driver (clando); in an attempt to improve his lot, he leaves Cameroon for Cologne, where the life of an exile is a little easier. Occasionally slow and rather clumsily acted, the film nevertheless offers insights into questions of freedom, activism, apathy and responsibility, and as a bonus features a marvellously seductive jazz blues score.