#Jean Luc Herbulot

[scenesandscreens]

Saloum (2021)

Director - Jean Luc Herbulot, Cinematography - Gregory Corandi

"We say that revenge is like a river whose bottom is reached only when we drown."

[batterknowsbetter]

Yann Gael as Chaka in Saloum (2021)

[sloshed-cinema]

Saloum (2021)

There’s something exhilarating about when a movie grabs the viewer by the scruff of the neck and shouts, “Come along fucker, I know exactly what I’m doing.” The opening minute or so of Saloum, shifting from hallucinatory imagery of a boy wading out into the river with sun and moon arrayed overhead to a kinetic and immaculately choreographed handheld tracking shot of the Hyenas of Bangui retrieving a drug lord from Bissau shows in miniature the genre swath the film will explore. Much of the first half of the film adopts the energy of a sharp, stylish crime thriller with precise and breathless camera work accompanied by splashy graphics in an experience akin to what you might get in a Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie actioner. Nodding to but never leaning heavily on the tropes of the genre, Saloum traps its protagonists, already caught back on their heels and in the middle of nowhere, in a web of tension: the camp they find themselves at harbors many threats to their survival. A sequence of conversations builds a house of cards on a knife’s edge, any false move threatening to expose the Hyenas.

While it flits at the periphery in the form of nightmare sequences early on, the Hyenas’ arrival at a strange commune in remote Saloum isn’t actually wholly a coincidence. Ringleader Chaka reveals he has a dark past as a child soldier held captive by the man now running the camp. It’s here when the film transitions rather abruptly to a horror film: spirits are present everywhere here due to the cycle of violence and anguish in the space, of which Chaka’s child slavery/soldierdom is simply the latest iteration. The entities that plague the survivors are a little silly, resembling a swarm of bees or dense cluster of ash with horns, killed all too easily except for when necessary, and the exposition dump explaining it all is a touch rapid. But it’s almost impossible for these missteps to overshadow the raw charisma of the opening half. Let the spiritualism that has been hinted at in the flashbacks and in fellow Hyena Minuit’s shamanic advisory come roaring to the fore. A mere Western isn’t enough to contain this cycle of suffering, it has to be rendered even more operatic and exorcised.

THE RULES

SIP

A flashback begins.

Someone is knocked out by white powder.

Spooky specter!

BIG DRINK

Voiceover narration begins.

Location establishing text.

[watchingmoviesandshit]

Saloum (2022)

[moviemosaics]

Saloum

directed by Jean Luc Herbulot, 2021

[watchingalotofmovies]

Saloum

Saloum    [trailer]

In 2003, a trio of mercenaries escaping a coup in Guinea-Bissau take refuge in a hidden region on the Saloum river of Senegal. But something from beyond the grave awaits them there.

Has lots of elements of a classic western. But what makes it special is the African setting and its landscapes.

I could've done with less of the supernatural horror elements, especially since they take over the film towards the end. But I have to admit that they were visually well done and fitting for the production.

As usual, I feel obliged to point out, you can't carry with one hand a suitcase full of gold bars like that.

[moviesteve]

Saloum https://bit.ly/3CGMr0D There are a lot of interesting films coming out of Africa right now. Here’s Saloum, not perfect but pretty damn exhilarating for its first half at the very least. It’s an open homage to Tarantino putting colourful characters with unexpected skillsets into tense situations and then watching as the pinball-machine consequences play out. Congolese director Jean Luc Herbulot gives us a fascinating opening shot of a shadowy figure entering what might be a lake with a gun. What are we about to see? A western? A sci-fi movie? A war movie? A revenge drama? There are flavours of most of those in what Herbulot eventually delivers. But first let’s meet the team: a … Read more

[sszeemedia]

Blue Finch Films acquires worldwide rights to Jean Luc Herbulot's "Zero"; set for Sitges Film Festival

UK-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has acquired worldwide rights to “Zero,” an action thriller directed by Jean Luc Herbulot, according to Variety exclusive report. Herbulot is known for his 2021 TIFF Midnight Madness selection “Saloum.” “Zero” has been selected for the first wave of the Sitges Film Festival, with further festival announcements anticipated. The film’s plot…

[proustianrevelry]

Jean Luc Herbulot, writer & direcor of Saloum (2021): I was heavily inspired by Metal Gear Solid

Character in Saloum (2021): ghosts can't enter the building due to artificial light and magnetic waves

[cosmicanger]

Saloum (2021) dir. Jean Luc Herbulot

Cinematography. Gregory Corandi

[fairhairedkings]

Saloum (2021)

Directed by Jean Luc Herbulot

Cast: Yann Gael, Evelyne Ily Juhen, Roger Sallah, Mentor Ba, Bruno Henry

Plot:

Shot down after fleeing a coup and extracting a drug lord from Guinea-Bissau, the legendary mercenaries known as the Bangui Hyenas must stash their stolen gold bounty, lay low long enough to repair and refuel their plane and escape back to Dakar, Senegal. When they take refuge at a holiday camp in the coastal region of Sine-Saloum, they do their best to blend in with their fellow guests; but one Hyena is hiding a dark secret. He has brought them there for a reason and once his past catches up to him, his decisions have devastating consequences, threatening to unleash hell on them all.

[tatiregis]

Saloum, 2021. Dir: Jean Luc Herbulot.

País: Senegal.

[batterknowsbetter]

Together to the end. 

[jessethecowboy]

Saloum (2021)

For day three of October we have left Europe and travelled to Senegal in Africa.

I had no idea what to expect going into Saloum, which was refreshing in an age of reboots and cinematic universes. I found myself excited and intrigued at every turn during this movie. Though it took a while to reach the part of the movie I would consider to be "horror", it was well worth the wait. The first half of the movie, which sits more in the "action" genre acted as a fast paced introduction to the story and the characters, which had me keen to see where the movie would go.

I would have loved the movie to be a bit longer, and for some of the story pieces to have been developed a bit deeper, but I still enjoyed the movie overall. I recommend this film to fans of the "Wild West", or for anyone wanting to expand their cultural horizons. I will certainly be looking out for any future projects from the director Jean Luc Herbulot.

[doormouseetcappendix]

Favorite Films Of 2022 Honorable Mention Part 2

Funny Pages directed by Owen Cline 

The Fablemans directed by Steven Spielberg 

Bodies Bodies Bodies directed by Halina Reijn 

Men directed by Alex Garland 

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers directed by Akiva Schaffer 

Puss N Boots The Last Wish directed by Joel Crawford 

The Takedown directed by Louis Leterrier 

Saloum directed by Jean Luc Herbulot

The Princess directed by Le-Van Kiet 

Mona Lisa & The Blood Moon directed by Anna Lily Amirpour 

[parpatrickkennelly]

2021. Jean Luc Herbulot PLAY