The African Doctor

I saw this French film on Netflix, and it's based on a true story of a Congolese doctor who moves his family to a small French village in the 1970s. Apparently The African Doctor came out in 2016, and I missed it. The movie is told in French with English subtitles (American English since they refer to soccer), and it's co-written by the doctor's son Kamini, who had a viral video in 2006 where he told his life story of growing up in Marly-Gomont.


After graduation from a French medical school, Dr Seyolo Zantoko refuses a job offer from the corrupt dictator of his home country of Zaire, and instead he accepts a post from the mayor of Marly-Gomont, who is desperate for a doctor yet skeptical that the villagers will accept a black man. Still, they take a chance on it and Seyolo tells his family they are moving to northern France, but he accidentally gives them the impression that they will be in Paris. Seyolo's wife Anne is greatly disappointed to find themselves in a rural village far from Paris, and she fights with him often about making decisions without telling her. (She has a legitimate point that he could at least communicate even if he's going to overrule her.) Anyway, Seyolo struggles to be accepted by the white villagers who imagine that he is some unqualified, primitive witch doctor. Even well-meaning villagers who welcome the doctor's wife to the town market inadvertently insult Anne by assuming she doesn't know any of the local vegetables.

There's also a plot about the mayor of the town coming up for re-election soon, and his political rival deliberately tries to sabotage the mayor by discrediting Seyolo and starting rumors that he performs abortions. One pregnant patient runs away at the sight of Seyolo and a local farmer takes out his gun and shoots at Seyolo. He laughs this off with his family even while telling his kids to work hard in school, but he doesn't give them any practical advice to deal with racist bullying. Since he has no patients, Seyolo frequents the local pub and plays darts, hoping to become friends with the men so they will trust him. Two men do eventually come to his clinic, but they refuse to pay him, insisting that Seyolo is not a "real doctor" and they will continue to drive out of town to a white doctor. At one point, being desperate for money, Seyolo secretly takes a job working for a local farmer, and the mayor says Seyolo has until Christmas to win over the villagers, or they'll get a different doctor. (But surely the mayor ought to help by bringing his own family to the doctor and telling others in the village to do the same?)

Meanwhile, the son Kamini makes friends with an ostracized girl in school named Silvie and Seyolo treats her scabby skin condition; he cures her, and her parents are grateful, but there's still no widespread trust until Seyolo delivers a baby on Christmas day. He finally gets patients, but soon gets arrested on a trumped up charge about his immigration status. (This is the work of the mayor's rival.) At school, Seyolo's daughter Sivi joins the all-boy football (soccer) team, but doesn't tell her parents for fear that they will disapprove and forbid her from playing. When she wins the match, the whole village is suddenly all in favor of the girl they formerly taunted as "Darkie". Seyolo is smart enough to capitalize on this soccer enthusiasm by taking Sivi around town, telling people that she won't get to play for the team anymore. The family is being forced to move since he can't work, and the new mayor will probably bring a different doctor to town. This finally motivates the town to vote in the election to keep the current mayor. The schoolchildren have come around too, even staging a play all about the African doctor and his family. Villagers now publicly support him and help him get French nationality.

The movie is mostly upbeat and comedic, but it is disheartening that it took so long for the village to accept this family. The idea that lots of the villagers only gave their support after Sivi won soccer matches for them is also depressing. But apparently the family forgave the village and stayed with them for years instead of leaving for Brussels to be with their relatives there. It's a nice little film, and I enjoyed it since I can't find anything similar locally. I can't find Apple's The Banker anywhere in Dallas except at an expensive premium theater way out in Allen, and I've learned that First Cow won't reach DFW until April. At least I found the new Miss Fisher movie at some local Alamo Drafthouse theaters, and I'll get to see that next week.