On the chilly…ok, bitter cold Saturday afternoon of January 26th, 40 people trekked out to FiveMyles Gallery in Crown Heights, Brooklyn to watch Les Amours d’un Zombi, a film by well-known Haitian filmmaker Arnold Antonin that follows the story of a young taxi driver named Zéphyrin (Ricardo Lefèvre) who falls in love with the young bride Swamen (Caroline Pierre). Swamen, sadly, is married to an old farmer. Caught in the “act”, the naughty cabby flees leaving his woman behind. Three days later, Zéphyrin dies and is revived as a zombi for hire for the local ougan.
Unable to return to his love, Zéphyrin toils away. The love story goes on; the zombi, no longer able to keep his emotions hosts a press conference broadcasting his love for Swamen and asking her to return to him. Linking with a reporter (Gessica Geneus), Zéphyrin searches high and low for his love. His movements do not go unnoticed as politicians begin to exploit the zombi’s new media attention.
As this was my first time watching this film, I was struck by the use of theme and emotion in this tale of love and deception. Light-hearted and humorous, it looked like the mixed Haitian and non-Haitian audience enjoyed the film. Antonin straddled the line of political commentary and entertaining plot line in a way that didn’t make it all seem like long form propaganda. What really made Les Amours a strong film was the way it made plot twists seem so natural; the critiques made of the Haitian media and political machine worked well in accentuating the central story of love. These ideas worked together to emphasize the deep importance of agency.
All in all, it was a great matinee film that left us chatty but contemplative. The kettle corn and coffee was a big plus as well. Mmmm…
Definitely looking forward to the next HCX | Haiti Film Fest Pre-season Screening of Kaleb by young Haitian-American filmmaker Kervans Barthelemy in Queens!
For those of you who couldn’t make it out to see Les Amours d’un Zombi, this film and other films are available for purchase at HCX events or online at ArnoldAntoninFilms.com.
Comments