- Starring
- Abou Sangare, Nina Meurisse, Younoussa Diallo
- Writers
- Delphine Agut, Boris Lojkine
- Director
- Boris Lojkine
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 93 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.
From the jump, The Story of Souleymane is fast moving. The titular Souleymane Sangaré (Sangare) is an asylum seeker from Guinea who has two days to prepare his story to attempt to secure legal residency in France. Souleymane’s days are filled with endless stress. He is a food delivery cyclist who spends his nights in homeless shelters as he reels with the guilt of leaving his mother back in Guinea and trying to start a new life in a place that seems to not even want him in the first place.
The film is part slice of life, part Uncut Gems style adrenaline fueled ride. The camera almost never leaves Souleymane as he appears in virtually every scene. We, as audiences, are bound to him and locked in to his every experience. That experience rarely strays into the realm of melodrama or surrealism as being exposed to Souleymane’s struggle borders on reality.
The stress of his day to day is unimaginable, as Souleymane must walk the line of trying to get paid as a delivery cyclist while using the identity of someone else to operate the account, due to strict rules for asylum seekers. This money oftentimes goes right back home to Guinea to support his mother while pressure mounts on him to be granted asylum in France. The streets of Paris can be unforgiving, with weaving through dangerous traffic and struggling to make deliveries on time, all the while the stress of his situation mounts. The film is at its most impactful when he runs into other asylum seekers, all going through similar situations. The feeling of desperation is high. This existence is more than just mentally challenging, as the physical side is displayed strongly as well.
Sangare is phenomenal. He is a revelation. His strong, brave front he puts up sometimes slips, and he displays the struggle he’s going through front and center, and it is in these moments that the mastery of his performance is fully unveiled. It is easily one of the best and most compassionate performances this year, and we can’t recommend this film enough.
In the end, we hope that The Story of Souleymane finds its way to the eyeballs of many as the festival season winds down and this film gets a theatrical release. Abou Sangare’s best actor win at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is undoubtedly convincing after having seen the film. It is an experience, and he completely brings it both mentally and physically.
*still courtesy of TIFF*
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