“Io Capitano” – Captain of all [MOVIES]
“Io Capitano,” nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best International Film from Italy, is a complicated web and complex film. Written and directed by Matteo Garrone, “Io Capitano” is the story of two teenage boys from Dakar, Senegal with stars in their eyes and Europe as a goal.
Moustapha Fall and Seydou Sarr. Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group.
It’s not so much the endless poverty that cousins Seydou and Moussa abhor. They have loving families making due with what they have and scrounging what they have not. It’s the lack of opportunity. Seydou and Moussa are musicians, writing their songs, playing their creations at local festivals, garnering the admiration of their peers. They need a bigger stage. Everybody says so; or at least their friends do. Mobile phones, television and movies tell a story of an outside world that may as well be in outer space because it will never be their story as long as they remain in Senegal. Italy. They must go to Italy, land of opportunity, wealth and fame. Or at least that’s what they learned from the media. They long to sign autographs for white fans.
Sixteen is a time to dream and they are nothing if not dreamers. They work as low level builders and pick up any jobs they can find along the way. They secretly save a portion of their earnings, hiding it where only they know. When they have enough, they will start their journey. Seydou, the softer of the two, falters when he approaches his mother about leaving. Moussa, appalled, can’t believe his ears, despite Seydou telling him it was a joke. His eyes tell of his doubts, fears and hesitations. But he yields to Moussa’s command and the planning continues.
Consulting with knowledgeable elders and soothsayers, they are constantly told the same thing. Do not go. The dangers far outweigh the benefits and they, like almost everyone who has ever attempted this trip, will die. But they are sixteen and death is an intangible concept. Dying in a quest to find fame and wealth would be more satisfying than the slow death they feel in Dakar. The constructs of such a trip are abstract. They are young and in a hurry. A month is a year; a year is an eternity. It must be now. They have the money to get to Agadez, Niger by bus and from there to Libya and then across the sea to Italy. But crossing Libya is not what they expected. Between Agadez and Tripoli is the vast Sahara desert and the transportation is not what they expected.
“Io Capitano” is many things. It is a quixotic quest; it is a harsh coming of age; it is a realistic view of the terrors and hardships faced by migrants looking for a better life. That Seydou and Moussa are feckless youth, unprepared for the horrors of such a journey takes some of the focus off the real world perils of families in need of a life away from unrelenting poverty, political upheaval, and even, in some cases, slavery. But Moussa and Seydou, in their naivité, will face the same horrors for reasons far less compelling than their fellow travelers. Their rickety bus trip between Dakar and Agadez will be first class on the Emirates in comparison to what they will soon face on their interminable trip.
Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall. Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group.
Trekking across the Sahara will be a walk in the park (it isn’t) compared to the human perils lying ahead —human traffickers, thieves, corrupt government officials, murderous police, all targeting migrants for their meager savings and other uses. Prison and worse await many; death, the majority.
Garrone tells a compelling, chronological story through the eyes of these immature boys, soon to grow old before their time. The cinematography, by Paolo Carnera, is stylish and rich, making the photography of the journey a character unto itself. Filmed in Dakar and the Saharan desert of Morocco, real life played a role in the choice of locations because of ongoing wars and insurgencies in both Libya and Niger.
The casting of Seydou Sarr as Seydou and Moustapha Fall as Moussa was truly serendipitous. Neither had professional acting experience. Sarr was a rapper with a TikTok following and Fall was attending acting school in Dakar when they were found through open auditions. Garrone was lucky enough to employ individuals who had actually made the trip and could share their experiences. Sarr and Fall are totally believable as they experience the hardships and terrors of this trip to a stardom that will surely not come. Effectively, in both senses of the word, it becomes a tenacious voyage where the primary object is no longer fame but survival.
“Io Capitano” is definitely worth seeing but does not rise to my expectation of an Oscar nominated Best International Film. Nor does it fit any category as an Italian film other than having an Italian director, with funding provided by Italy, France and Belgium. Still, it is definitely a compelling story with wonderful leads. It opens our eyes to the dangers faced by migrants searching for a better life. The vilification of those trying to escape poverty is unconscionable in this day and age. Surely, there is a better way to address the problem than prison, deportation and death as an outcome. It’s easy to say there’s a better solution, but coming up with one is a challenge for the ages. Experience the difficulties faced by these boys who should have listened to their elders and it might shade your future opinion.
In Wolof and French with English subtitles.
Opening Friday February 23 at the Laemmle Royal, Laemmle Town Center, the Landmark Sunset and Landmark Pasadena.