Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Simply A Masterpiece

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

"Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont" deals with the mayor of a small village in France, who has been searching for a doctor to run his office in his hometown for years. When he meets a young African student of medicine, he hesitates to offer him the job but finally agrees to test the waters. What follows is a story of stereotypes, racism, mutual understanding and warmth. First of all I think that the choice to make a film out of the biography of this special man is a right one. It's one of those most people never heard of but one that can evoke questions and possibly even changes. Personally, I am not a huge fan of the film's attempts to be a part-time comedy because they take a bit of its magic away. Instead, I would have preferred a more sensere approach, to support the rollercoaster of feelings this family had to face. But otherwise time flies by watching this movie and it is sometimes good to tell a story of hope in somehow desperate times.All in all this is a solid film with a beautiful background that sows that integration is tough on both sides but can create true beauty and strong bonds.

"Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont" or "The African Doctor" is a French 95-minute movie from 2016. It premiered last summer in France already, but took almost a year to get here to Germany. It is directed by Julien Rambaldi and he is also among the three writers who worked on the script for this one. And with current events (refugee crisis, rise of nationalism in Europe and the USA), the subject is really relevant these days too, even if it plays several decades in the past. Actually with the French election several days ago and the two extremely different candidates, it could hardly be any more relevant now. This film depicts the life of an African who studied medicine in France and ends up as the village doctor in a little place in the countryside in the North of Paris. The film depicts the struggles from both sides. On the one hand we have the family, his wife and kids, who have their own struggles in adapting to life far far away from their home and also getting along with what is really xenophobia and what is nothing serious. On the other hand, there is the local townsfolk and most of them are really really biased when it comes to the new doctor. The consequence is that for the most part of the film, there are simply no patients, but there are huge phone bills as the wife keeps calling her relatives. Luckily thanks to the help of a farm worked and a pregnancy and birth at the right time things take a turn for the better at some point. But there are still obstacles like the law getting in the way of the protagonist's profession in the generic major conflict that every movie has towards the end.I must say I enjoyed the film for the most part. There are strengths and weaknesses and the film needs a little while to get going, but all in all it is a rewarding watch. I liked for example how the movie did not depict the white guys in here as evil or truly racist, but they were just unable to cope with the new situation. I even think the bad guy, the one who wants to be major is not really racist (maybe his aide is), but just power hungry. And actually, the movie also refers the bad situation in the central character's home country and shows how cruel and ruthless people make it big there with the one guy at the dinner table. So the blacks also have bad seed among them. This reference also can be seen in the white bull scene, which was perhaps the best and most metaphoric moment of the entire movie because it was such a great parallel about the Black man and how the white beast perceives him. The bull wasn't evil, just confused and there was a good proverb at one point too about how people are scared of what they don't know. The second this fear vanishes is the moment his doctor's office has many people there.I also think the comedy wasn't bad there, for example the gospel scene at the church or the two sick guys who come first to the doctor's office, even if the ending of this scene was of course pretty negative. So even if not all the intended funny scenes worked out properly, you can get some solid laughs while watching I believe. Other weaknesses include the football daughter part near the end, which was a bit weak and unrealistic in my opinion, even if the general idea of using football to make a bridge that helps against the prejudice was a nice one. I also think the attempts by the filmmakers to include shades in the characters, to keep them from being entirely good or evil, black or white (no pun intended), did not always work out to a satisfying degree. However, some of it did work out, so there is nothing so bad in this movie that it was a negative deal breaker. And the very ending was actually a bit on the touching side too and made me curious about the central character's life. Of course, real-life references always help. With this movie here, France showed Germany again how to make a quality comedy on a subject that is still important today. Shame on us we have to live with garbage like "Willkommen bei den Hartmanns" being the "best" out there. I recommend "Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont", certainly worth checking out.

A film for our times, though based on true story decades ago. A black Congolese doctor relocates to French countryside with his family and face racial distancing by the locals. It's an uplifting story on how the father and the kids turn both the locals and their mother too with their talents and unconditionality. In current times when divisive tendencies are on the upswing, we need more such reinforcements.The movie is a simple one, perhaps made with modest means. But it is highly effective at what it attempts. The acting, especially of the female lead is very good. And the kids as well as the male lead are delightful. The villagers all play their role well.

Summary: A medical student in Paris, originally from Africa (Zaire/Congo, to be specific), turns down the opportunity to return to his homeland and work for the ruling kleptocracy. Instead, in pursuit of French residency, he agrees to set up a practice in a small town in rural France. Hilarity ensues.No, really. Believe it or not, the film is largely a comedy. The writers (including the real-life son of the main character) made a clear choice to make this film as light-hearted as possible. Frankly, that was a stiff challenge. The film could easily have been far darker. Perhaps it should have been - but that would be a different film.Dr. Zantoko (Marc Zinga in an impressive, enjoyable performance) takes on xenophobia, racism, annoying in-laws, marital strife, parenthood, unpaid bills, and small-town politics, rarely letting any of it get him down.Zantoko's family (Aissa Maiga, Bayron Lebli, and Medina Diarra) also turn in winning performances.I was less enamored with the performances of the townspeople. But that is probably colored by the negative characteristics they were called on to exhibit. So maybe they gave great performances??? (FWIW, Jonathan Lambert did a great job as the smarmy, back-stabbing politician.)If I'm going to criticize something, it's the redemption arc for the town itself. This film tries to pull that off, with some unlikely deus-ex-machina events bringing everyone together for the happy ending.I get it - the makers wanted an upbeat, feel-good film. Thing is, I've seen plenty of films where the charming, off-beat townsfolk eventually come together with the heroic outsider. Here, the film only made half the sale - I bought the family, but not the town. The townspeople here aren't charming or off-beat - they're just xenophobic imbeciles. And frankly, if they were anything close to what was shown here, they DIDN'T deserve Dr. Zantoko, in the film or in real life. But don't let that criticism steer you away. All in all, this was an enjoyable view into worlds that you don't see in American cinema at all, and only rarely in French cinema.