UID:
kobvindex_ZLB13810909
Format:
1 Videokassette (VHS, 77 Min.)
,
NTSC
Series Statement:
Library of African Cinema : [Video]
Content:
Fintar O Destino has the distinction of being the Library of African Cinema's first sports film - but a sports film with a decidedly African twist... In Fintar O Destino character and fate are geographic, bound up with the unique history of the Cape Verde Islands. These ten volcanic islands located three hundred miles off the most westerly point of Africa were uninhabited until the Portuguese discovered them in 1462. They soon grew into a bustling port of call between Africa, Europe and the Americas developing a highly Creolized mulatto population. Since the islands have never been economically self-sufficient, emigration has been a central fact of Cape Verdeans' lives... In the film, an old schoolteacher observes that "on an island men fear staying more than leaving." Perhaps this is the "dribbling fate" of the title, the islanders' sense of just passing time, waiting for the big chance to move. For many young men, the most exciting, if not realistic route off the island is to become a sports star, the illusory promise followed by so many inner city youth in this country, poignantly depicted in Hoop Dreams. The film's opening shot symbolizes this as we see a boy hoeing the island's arid volcanic soil only to realize he is actually marking out a soccer field. For the older men who have not found a way off the island, the only remaining escape is to live vicariously through the fortunes of their favorite team ignoring the mundane life all around them. The central character of the film, Mané, owns an unprofitable "sports bar" in Mindelo on the island of Saö Vicente, whose denizens are overgrown adolescents seemingly with little to do but root for Benfica, a major Portuguese team. Mané actually turned down an invitation to try out for Benfica in 1959 in order to marry a local girl; as a result his whole life has been consumed by regret, sinking into alcoholism, improvidence and an unhappy marriage. His situation finds an echo in the younger generation with Kalu, a talented teenager Mané is coaching who must decide whether to continue his rigorous training, emigrate to America or pursue a beautiful island ingenue. (California Newsreel).
Note:
Portugies., und kreol., mit engl., Untertiteln
Language:
Portuguese
Keywords:
Kap Verde
;
Alltag
;
Film
;
Videokassette
;
Videokassette
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