Félicité (2017)
72%RT Audience Score: 46%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 12 nominations
Félicité depicts a culture and a setting unfamiliar to many viewers, but its themes – and Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu’s performance – transcend borders
Félicité is like a musical, but with a serious twist. It’s set in Kinshasa and follows the story of a cabaret singer named Félicité. The film has a lyrical quality that matches the many musical numbers, but it’s not all fun and games. The central character is magnetic and enigmatic, and the film is often gripping, occasionally infuriating, and always enlightening. It’s not your typical downbeat film about Africa, but rather a nuanced and enlightening tale that details life in central Africa. Overall, Félicité is a must-see film that will leave you feeling both entertained and educated.
Production Company(ies)
ARTE Ariel Films, Arsam International,
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic Of Congo
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2017
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):Lingala, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2017 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 18, 2018
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Félicité, Drama, Lingala, Alain Gomis, Arnaud Dommerc, Oumar Sall, Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, Papi Mpaka, Gaetan Claudia, Nadine Ndebo, Léon Makola, Sylvie Kandala, Delphine Zingg, Olivier Loustau, $8.4K, Strand Releasing, reviewed by Leah Pickett, Scott Marks, Wendy Ide, Kevin Maher, Justin Chang, Peter Bradshaw, Dustin Chang, Daniel Barnes, Filipe Freitas, Rania Richardson, Alexa Dalby, female protagonist, African culture, cabaret singer, financial struggles, emotional support, Kinshasa, musical numbers, French-language melodrama, resilience, grief, despair, happiness, ordinary citizens, kitchen sink drama, dreamy musical, nuanced performance, sullen, vivacious, coquettish, female portraits
Worldwide gross: $265,495
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $320,250
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,839
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 34,924
US/Canada gross: $12,433
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $14,997
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,809
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,713
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $2,066
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,851
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Papi Mpaka – Tabu
Gaetan Claudia – Samo
Nadine Ndebo – Hortense
Léon Makola – Patron Bar
Sylvie Kandala – Femme cour
Director(s)
Alain Gomis
Writer(s)
Alain Gomis, Delphine Zingg, Olivier Loustau
Producer(s)
Arnaud Dommerc, Oumar Sall, Alain Gomis
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 12 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (46) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (1)
The meandering narrative has a lyrical quality consistent with the many musical numbers.
September 25, 2018
Leah Pickett
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Think High Noon set in Kinshasa and backed by a Congolese beat.
January 19, 2018 | Rating: 2/5
Scott Marks
San Diego Reader
TOP CRITIC
This heady trip into downtown Kinshasa is as magnetic, and enigmatic, as its forceful central character.
November 12, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A heroic, award-winning central performance from the Congolese actress Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu is reason alone to see this often gripping, occasionally infuriating French-language melodrama.
November 10, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Beya … arrives fully formed here as a figure of enormous dignity and warmth, a pillar of resilience who is nonetheless all-too-humanly susceptible to exhaustion, grief and despair.
November 9, 2017
Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
It’s a film with seriousness and compassion, though a little lengthy and diffuse. Dramatic storm clouds gather and pass overhead without ever quite bursting into rain.
November 9, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Félicité is not another downbeat film about Africa steeped in miserablist tendencies. Gomis and company don’t lose the sight of happiness in the daily lives of its ordinary citizens.
July 17, 2020
Dustin Chang
ScreenAnarchy
A Kinshasa-set hybrid of kitchen sink drama and dreamy musical.
May 8, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
Daniel Barnes
Dare Daniel
With the newcomer Véro Mputu onboard, Gomis didn’t restrain himself from sailing this boat with courage and emotion.
February 1, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Filipe Freitas
Always Good Movies
FELICITE is an enlightening tale that details life in central Africa, set in a milieu of a cabaret singer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
December 4, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4
Rania Richardson
Film-Forward.com
With a brilliantly nuanced performance from Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, simultaneously sullen, vivacious, coquettish, Félicité is the African riposte to the West’s obsession with female portraits.
October 18, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Alexa Dalby
Dog and Wolf
Félicité might feel like two movies in one but both parts are ravishing, both unmissable.
October 17, 2018 | Rating: A
Murtada Elfadl
The Film Experience…
Plot
Filled with pride and a sense of freedom, Félicité is a night singer in a bar in Kinshasa. Her life changed totally when her 14-year-old son had a motorcycle accident. To save him, she embarks on a frenetic race through the streets of an electric Kinshasa, a world of music and dreams. Her path crosses that of Tabu’s.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a “heroic, award-winning central performance” from Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu.
Alain-Gomis.jpg
