SOULEYMANE’S STORY (L’HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE ) (France 2024) ****
Directed by Boris Lojkine

SOULEYMANE’S STORY  follows Souleymane, a recent Guinean immigrant, through the streets of Paris as he prepares for his asylum application interview while working for a meal delivery service on his e-bike.

Racing through the streets of Paris, making food deliveries on his bicycle, Guinean immigrant Souleymane (Abou Sangare) is struggling to stay afloat.  In two days, he has to report for an asylum application interview, where he must plead his case to an immigration officer (Nina Meurisse) who will determine his future in France.  As he rides, he repeats his story. But Souleymane is not ready.

At times, the film feels like an updated modern version of Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, as Souleymane relies 100% on his e-bike to survive.  The audience winces at the point when the bike might be stolen. However, the director steers away from this cliché of the bike being stolen, instead having Souleymane encounter a bike accident.  But the bike still works after a few adjustments anyway.

The film plays like Murphy's Law taking effect on the poor protagonist, Souleymane.  Everything seems to be going wrong for him.  His deliveries are difficult, and if the customers are not giving him a hard time (like the lady with the complaint of the crushed bag) or the restaurateurs (Souleymane is told to wait for his turn, thus missing other deliveries).  He encounters an accident on his bike.  His delivery account gets cancelled due to complaints.  He keeps almost missing his last bus back to his lodging, while actually missing one.  He is harassed by the police.   He has trouble with renting his bike and setting up his delivery account.  To add fuel to the fire, there is trouble back home.  His mother is still ill and not improving.  His girlfriend, who still loves him, is about to give up on him.   The question on the audience’s mind is whether anything else can get worse?  And this is one flaw of the film, as it appears that the film attempts to manipulate the audience too much to feel the trials and tribulations of poor Souleymane.  The flaw is lightened with a few acts of kindness in the story. A restaurateur gives Souleymane a bonbon.  It is a small but kind and effective measure.  Souleymane’s girlfriend ends up being sympathetic.

The themes revolve around the exploitation of the 'sans papiers' (without papers) often by fellow Africans - one a fellow immigrant from northern Guinea who lazily coaches asylum applicants to recite false stories of political persecution at their hearings in return for payment, and another who lends Souleymane a food delivery account but then takes half of his earnings every week. The film largely avoids depictions of racism, but equally, there are few acts of kindness in the film.

The cameraman follows the actor on his e-bike as the filming takes place in and around Paris, demonstrating the urgency and desperation of Souleymane’s situation.
The cast is nothing short of excellent, as can be observed in the last 10  minutes of the film’s climax and conclusion of the film.   Abou Sangaré is phenomenal as Souleymane and is

Nina Meurisse as the OFPRA agent.   Camerawork and editing deserve credit for the last 10 minutes of the film.

The film opens in theatres on August 8th. The film is also the winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and Un Certain Regard Best Actor Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Trailer: