Le Secret de l'enfant fourmi (2012)
Directed by Christine François

Film Review

The first fictional feature from documentary filmmaker Christine François is an eye-opening drama that draws our attention to one of the more gruesome realities of life in Africa - the practice of infanticide in North Benin.  In accordance with their beliefs, the people of this West African country ritually sacrifice any child who is born with certain characteristics which can be interpreted as signs that they have been touched by evil spirits.  Any child delivered prematurely or the wrong way up is considered to be demonically tainted, as are children with unusual teeth growth - all are put to death in such a horrendous way as to make the Nazi death camps appear almost humane.  (Benin has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in Africa - 62 deaths for every 1000 live births.)   Christine François's experience as a documentarist shows in the unflinching authenticity that she brings to her film and the way in which she tackles a serious subject without resorting to hysterical over-dramatisation or gratuitous sentiment-milking.  Her film is informative and involving, but not sensationalist. 

Le Secret de l'enfant fourmi is strongest in its portrayal of the relationship that gradually develops between an ordinary French woman (convincingly played by Audrey Dana) and the little African boy she reluctantly adopts.  Where the film is perhaps less successful is in its action sequences and excursions into fantasy (the boy's recurring nightmares) - these are far less credible and often come across as over-directed and amateurish.  Whilst, overall, the film is lacking in coherence and somewhat undermined by a script that could well have done with a few more rewrites, it succeeds, by virtue of its subject matter, in holding our attention and delivering a moving experience.  Aside from its artistic merits, the real value of Christine François's film is that it should help to raise awareness of a horrific cultural phenomenon in Africa and galvanise the efforts of the international community (particularly adoption agencies) to intervene and rescue those children who are at risk of being slaughtered simply because they are different from the average.  If only for one's cultural awareness, this is a film that is well worth seeing.

Film Synopsis

After separating from her partner Didier, Cécile sets out to look for him in North Benin.  In the course of her seemingly futile journey across the country, she encounters a young African woman, who places a baby in her arms before running off in a state of panic.  With the local orphanage unwilling to take the baby boy from her, Cécile decides to adopt him herself and takes him back with her to France.  When the boy, now named Lancelot, is seven years old, he begins to suffer from a series of terrifying nightmares.  Thinking that the reason for the nightmares lies in her son's past, Cécile returns with him to the country where he was born, in an attempt to learn just why he was abandoned.  Cécile can hardly believe what she discovers...