''Jaguar'' is a 1967 French ethnographic film directed by
Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French filmmaker and anthropologist.
He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was characterized b ...
. Set in the 1950s, it follows three men from
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesDamouré, Lam, and Illo, who travel to the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
(now
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
) for work. Much of the dialogue and narration in the film is provided by the three men themselves as they comment on their past experiences on their journey.
After being exhibited at the Venice Film Festival in 1967, the movie finally had a general though limited release in 1971. It was well-received by French audiences and critics, and has since received considerable academic attention due to the film's unconventional framing and its implicit rebuke to chauvinist, one-dimensional European portrayals of life in Africa.
Plot
The film follows three men from
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagescowherd, Illo, a fisherman, and
, an educated dandy. After a brief introduction detailing their lives in Niger, they visit a fortune teller, who warns them that the journey will be difficult, but that things will be very good for them when they return. The fortune teller also recommends that the three protagonists split up when they arrive in Gold Coast, as well as suggesting that they would reunite later on.
The three men then set out on foot to travel to the Gold Coast, seeking work, money, and adventure. Along the way, they encounter a wide variety of peoples and places, and have a series of whimsical interactions with them, alternately scavenging food and begging from local villagers. Upon reaching the border between Niger and the Gold Coast, guards demand papers, which they do not have. They eventually cross the border by walking behind the guard's backs.
Upon arriving in the Gold Coast, the three men split up, working odd-jobs as merchants, manual laborers, foremen, and gold miners in
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...
and
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
Convention People's Party
The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Conven ...
, and becomes notorious for being a ''jaguar'', a slang term that is described as referring to a well-dressed, polite, and sharp young man. Eventually, the season ends, and the men return to their lives in Niger, bearing suitcases full of goods from the Gold Coast–they proceed to give away almost all of these possessions as gifts to other people living in their village. The film closes with narration from Rouch, comparing the journey of the film's characters to that of conquerors of a bygone era.
Style and production
''Jaguar'''s genre is difficult to classify, as it draws on techniques from both
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
and
narrative film
Narrative film, fictional film or fiction film is a motion picture that tells a fictional or fictionalized story, event or narrative. Commercial narrative films with running times of over an hour are often referred to as feature films, or feature ...
. Jean Rouch referred to the film as "cine-fiction", while others have labeled it "ethnofiction", referencing the film's use of techniques associated with
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
. The concept of the film was collaboratively developed by Rouch, Damoré, and Lam.
The shots used in ''Jaguar'' were all filmed in 1954. Three years later, Rouch reunited with Damoré and Lam, who then were recorded chatting as they watched the recorded footage. This running commentary was then incorporated into the film, providing a playful narration for the events of the film that is instrumental in establishing the film's tone.
Several of the scenes that appear to show Damouré, Lam, and Illo travelling or working are in fact fictionalized reenactments. None of the labor performed by the main characters was for a wage: they were compensated instead by Rouch. While the film purports to show them walking across West Africa for months, in reality they traveled most of the distance in Rouch's Land Rover.
Throughout the film, Rouch and the narrators toy with the audience's pre-existing expectations of the film's subjects. For instance, in one sequence, the three travelers pass through a Somba village where everyone walks around nearly naked. At first, Damoré and Lam are dismissive of the Somba, whom they see as primitives, but soon change their opinions and defend the villagers' customs as being perfectly reasonable, while identifying that they themselves are outsiders in this context (to say nothing of audiences in France, who would have been even further removed from the villagers than the film's subjects). Rouch's sensitivity to other cultures in his cinematic approach predates the popularity of academic critiques of
Orientalism
In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
by several decades, and can be seen as a rebuke of European
chauvinism
Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...
and
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, as well as a demonstration of the means by which
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
can reclaim their narratives.
Reception and legacy
The film premiered on September 3, 1967, at the Venice Film Festival. On its general release, ''Jaguar'' was well received by audiences and critics in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Rouch's approach to the subject material was praised as a humanistic and lyrical response to the frequently dehumanizing nature of ethnographic sciences.
Rouch commented that ''Jaguar'' did a better job documenting the phenomena of
seasonal migration in Niger
Seasonal migration, locally called the ''Exode'', plays an important part of the economic and cultural life of the West African nation of Niger. While it is a common practice in many nations, Niger sees as much as a third of its rural population t ...
than his actual scientific
monographs
A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject.
In library cataloging, ''monograph ...