Black and White in Color

Year: 1976
Genre: Drama
Directed: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Stars: Jacqus Spiesser, Jean Carmet, Jacques Dufilho, Catherine Rouvel, Maurice Barrier, Benjamin Memel Atchory, Peter Berling, Marius Beugre Boignan, Claude Legros, Dora Doll, Baye Macoumba Diop, Jacques Monnet
Production: France 3 Cinema

Black and White in Color is a 1976 film about the unctuous specter of war and its curious effects on the small African colonial community of Fort Coulais. The white colonists of the town largely consists of wholesale merchants the Rechampots (Dufilho, Legros and Doll), the sexually frustrated Simon's (Monnet and Rouvel), two bumbling Catholic priests (Berling and Boignan), a permanently drunk sergeant (Carmet) and young geographer Hubert (Spiesser). It is through a care package sent to Hubert that the townsfolk discover France has been at war with Germany for a little over a month and in a patriotic fervor decide to take on the nearby settlement in German Togoland. To do this however they must coop the large black population.

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Exploding onto the scene as a powerful calling card for director Jean-Jacques Annaud, Black and White in Color benefits from some sly and surprising comic set-pieces. Those expecting the dour humorlessness of Enemy at the Gates (2001) will instead find moments of genuine mirth, plain and in the open among the noxious absurdity of war. In one scene palanquin carriers chant clever songs as they labor to bring the priests to their destination. While whites hear them and think they're gibberish, the locals know they're singing about the quality of their passengers. On many occasions the white colonists celebrate their piddly (and few) successes while black Catholic converts Caprice (Barrier) and Assomption (Atchory) shake their heads in disbelief; muttering to themselves "ugh, white people."

There are times when the light-hearted humor threatens to sabotage the themes of the story from within. Thankfully we have the character progression of the young Hubert Fresnoy who at first seems the least enthused about battling the Germans. As the only learned member of the colonists, Hubert reluctantly leads the defense of Fort Coulais and the Sisyphean task of taking the neighboring German settlement. When we first meet him, he's drafting a letter to a school friend. In it he writes "I dare say, that in many respects the natives are not far from meriting the honored name of men," pitting him as the most enlightened of his compatriots. Yet war takes a toll on idealists as both Hubert and the audience come to realize. A toll that might just rob him of his humanity.

Classic case of a Napoleonic-complex

If ever there was a character that best exemplifies the goals of the film it'd be Jacques Dufilho's Paul Rechampot. While being the most outspoken and vain of the white colonists, he's also the most selfish, going so far as to bury cans of sardines and other supplies so their conscripted army won't take them. Bearing a thick, angry mustache, fierce eyes and brimming with hubris, the man against the elements superimposes a thesis of absurdity; like herding cats or confidently pissing in the wind.

What's ultimately missing from Black and White in Color is serious input from the locals themselves. Shot entirely in Cote d'Ivoire, the film feels like a satirical screed on war, religion and colonialism which, while well argued, nevertheless feels like it could have used at least one strong black character. Assomption gets a moment to shine as he gatekeeps for Hubert but we never get to really see the horrors of war up close from the subjugated perspective; from the soldier's perspective. So many men die as a result of hostilities yet the film's preoccupation with the white settlers blunts what could have made for a more damning film.

Thankfully, Jean-Jacques Annaud's clever direction and a few choice satirical images sure to stick with you make Black and White in Color worth a gander. Sure it might be plagued with one too many "white-guilt chic" moments, but at least you know it's heart is in the right place.

Final Grade: B-