French Movie Essay

The movie I chose was Princesse Tam Tam. The movie starts off with Max de Mirecourt, who is an upper class author, being kicked out of his bedroom by his infuriated wife Lucie. Max is experiencing the inability to perform romantically with his wife. Max links his incapability to perform because he feels as though he has lost passion and excitement. So he plans to go to Africa to escape his marriage and the city. This leads to him going to Tunisa, where he meets a local woman name Alwina. Alwina's persona interests him, where he decides to formulate a character inspired by her for his new novel. Max's relationship with Alwina annoys his wife, who is still in Paris. Max gets notice that his wife has been flirting with the maharaja. He then decides to go back to Paris, to stop his wife from seeing the maharaja. In doing so, he decides to bring Alwina along with him to make his wife jealous. Max teaches Alwina manners and social refinement things of a princess. This is where Alwina transforms into culturally sophisticated Princesse Tam Tam.

She goes to Paris with Max, where she pretends to be Princess Tam Tam, from India. In Max's novel, Lucie becomes jealous and angry with the attention he has been giving "Tam Tam." While at a jazz club, Alwina here's African drums. The beat of the drums overcomes her, so she jumps up and begins to dance. Lucie's friend who is acting as a spy to uncover Alwina's true identity, reports back to Lucy where they devise a plan. The plan was aimed to expose Alwina for who she really was. The Maharaja throws a party with the elite class of Parisian society. Once at the party Alwina hears the drum beat again and begins to dance. She jumps on stage, tearing off her white elegant gown and strips down to her native outfit, and dances with the other dancers. While dancing Max becomes embarrassed and hides his face. He then realizes that the audience is electrified with her performance. Lucie is livid. While the audience is congratulating Alwina, Max runs after Lucie, who bolted from the scene because of her jealousy.

At the end, Max and Lucie forgive each other, and fall back in love. Alwina witnesses Max and his wife embracing each other in a loving manner. The maharaja asks her does she love Max, and she admits that she does. She becomes sad and cries. In that very moment, the scene switches to where you see Max typing. This is where you realize the whole thing is just the portrayal of Max's novel playing out. Alwina never did go to Paris, and the events that occurred are how Max envisioned them. Max gives Alwina his property that he had in Tunisa. Max's novel becomes a best seller, and names it Civilization. The movie ends with Alwina and Dar (Max's butler) with her child and farm animals in Max's property that is now raggedy.

French History

This movie has a connection to French history because of the colonization of Africa. In the fifteenth century, Europeans set out on an expansionist course, stretching their trade, their political power, and even their ideas across the seas. France was one of the main expansionist powers. Beginning in the sixteenth century, French traders plied the coast of West Africa, trading for ivory, gum and gold. According to Iweriebor, "as a result of industrialization, major social problems grew in Europe, unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and social displacement." This led to France colonizing Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Mozambique and the list goes on.

On April 29, 1827, the day of Algiers made an unfortunate mistake; with the core of a quarrel with French diplomats over an expenditure of debts, he struck the French consul in the face with a fan (Iweriebor 20). Fewer two months later, French troops landed in Algeria, to initiate the colonization of Africa. Once they got hold of Algeria they begin to proclaim their power on Tunisia. Tunisia, despite its geographic proximity and linguistic affinities with Algeria, became a French "protector" rather than colony (Iweriebor 59). Though the structures of Tunisia are different than Algeria, the protectant system insured French control over the remainder of North Africa.

The France invaded Tunisia in1881, and Great Britian took over Egypt which Great Britian and France had previsioly ruled jointly (Iweriebor 27). "Bréart arrived Tunis between May 3 and May 6, 1881. He had