watch later

Not interested / seen

The African Doctor (2016)The African Doctor (2016)

The African Doctor (2016)

A feel-good story of one French village’s first African family

Comedy, Drama

7.2

movie

Belgium, France
French, Lingala
Feel-Good, Funny, Grown-up Comedy
2016
Julien Rambaldi
Aissa Maiga, Bayron Lebli, Bernard Eylenbosch
94 min

Synopsis

rotten tomatoes
imdb
wikipedia
1975. When Seyolo Zantoko, a doctor from the Congo who has managed, along with his family, to flee tyranny, is hired by the mayor of a small town in northern France, he begins a struggle to adapt to a new life and gain the trust of the prejudiced villagers.

Our Take

7.2
The Staff

In this French movie based on a true story, a med-school graduate from Congo is offered a job as the doctor to the president of Zaire. He refuses and chooses instead to move to a small town in France in hopes of getting French citizenship and securing a better future for his children.

The story, which starts in 1975, is set in a village where people had never seen a Black person. To that, Seyolo, the doctor, says: “so what? Now they will.”

The culture clash is both villagers-to-new-arrivals and the other way. Seyolo tells his family that he was hired in a village “north of Paris”, but all they hear is “Paris”, only to be shocked by the state of the rainy and muddy countryside village.

Comments

What did you think? Who should watch it?

Next up

You Hurt My Feelings (2023)

7.9

Wise, funny, and utterly relatable, this mediation on the merits of white lies and bitter truths is a delightful piece of work

Sanctuary (2023)

best

8.4

An ingenious blend of erotic thriller and dark comedy with a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Margaret Qualley

Cette Maison (2022)

best

8.4

A heartbreaking but transcendent dramatic exercise that uses imagination to reckon with a devastating loss

Polite Society (2023)

best

8.6

This riotous mishmash of influences still feels utterly original thanks to some ingenious writing and a whirlwind central performance

The Stroll (2023)

best

8.5

The often neglected but deeply necessary story of trans sex workers, finally told in their own voice

Maggie Moore(s) (2023)

6.5

An endearing cast can’t save this forgettable true-crime thriller

About My Father (2023)

4.4

This weak imitation of Meet the Parents can't be saved, not even by Robert De Niro

John Early: Now More Than Ever (2023)

7.9

Comedian John Early leans all the way into the self-indulgence of performance in this stand-up-musical concert hybrid

Missed Connections (2023)

5.6

A confounding chance encounter leads to a romantic comedy that barely delivers on either

Chevalier (2022)

6.5

A formulaic biopic that’s still worth a watch by virtue of its extraordinary subject