Io Capitano Review: A harrowing and poetic odyssey
Spoilers ahead for Io Capitano!
Io Capitano follows cousins Seydou and Mosusa as they leave Senegal in hopes of crossing the Mediterranean to find a better life in Europe. Yes, I ripped that off the official page, but it truly is a great little blurb about the film. This film, based on the true stories of real-life immigrants, shows so many sides of the world and keeps your eyes glued to the screen the whole way through. So, let's dive into why this film is an absolute masterpiece in today's review.
This movie does so many things that most films couldn't dream of being able to do and fall short of. The cinematography is gorgeous, distinct, and occasionally super unique, with a couple of allegorical dream sequences that are just as beautiful as they are soul-crushing. Every character feels so realistic and full of life, with the lead actors doing a phenomenal job (this is literally the main character's first acting credit... I would've thought he was an Oscar nominated actor, honestly!). The score was also incredible, and the narrative was also tightly crafted. While on paper, the story doesn't sound incredible, when you actually see the execution, you'll be blown away.
But beyond even the narrative, characters, cinematography, and all of that jazz, there's something even more special about this film: its cultural and sociological impact. Not only is this film gripping, but it dramatically explores the culture of Francophone Africa. This film perfectly builds out the countries of Senegal, Niger, Libya, and Tripoli. It shows the robust nature of the more niche language of Wolof, and, frankly, it presents a very different culture that is starkly different from mainland France. While this may be obvious to those who study French culture as part of college or their career, many people don't realize how widespread the French language has spread. While much of the film had the lead characters in bondage, much of the time is also spent on building out the cultures of the various countries.
Senegal is presented very modestly as a city where there are festivals, traditional dances, and a multitude of languages. In a world that often negatively views poorer African countries, I loved seeing this film show a more raw and authentic landscape—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the enchanting. Niger has a more sketchy vibe to it in the film, displayed as a haven for illegal desert travel and a place full of scammers. While it doesn't quite display it in the best light, it conveys the country as a place of immense conflict and heartbreaking events.
Io Capitano is ethereal, it's tragic, it's hopeful, and it's simply perfect. While its immense emotional weight makes it hard to rewatch, it is one of my favorite films of all time because it tells such a powerful, moving story about immigration, true friendship, and so much more.
Libya is full of illegal activity, heinous crimes, and neo-slavery, showing that the sheltered life of many are an absolute blessing, as there are still awful crimes against humanity in third-world countries. This film made me reconsider my life's most challenging moments in a new light. Tripoli was undoubtedly the most intriguing of all, simultaneously being a melting pot of cultures and an unfortunately racially divided country. I loved seeing the interactions between Seydou and the city's Senegalese enclaves, as well as seeing the work life of the general culture of Tripoli. Through its exploration of various locales and their cultures, this film was able to create a beautiful blanket of impactfulness for the whole movie.
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 95%
Letter Score: S+
Star Ranking: 5 out of 5
Io Capitano is ethereal, it's tragic, it's hopeful, and it's simply perfect. While its immense emotional weight makes it hard to rewatch, it is one of my favorite films of all time because it tells such a powerful, moving story about immigration, true friendship, and so much more. It's a film rooted in so many different languages and cultures, and is so beautiful in how it depicts even the most broken of people and societies. This film shows the ups and downs of the human experience through incredible acting, and while it's so hard to watch, it's so worth the experience it holds. Every single person on Earth deserves a chance to watch this movie; it's that good.
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