Film Review: Congorama

I really tried to like this film. It had a lot going for it and at the same time it was confusing and contrived. Well known Belgian actor Olivier Gourmet plays the part of Michel. He is an engineer living in Belgium with his father, Congolese wife and child... His father is a famous author. He is paralyzed and must be carried up and down stairs. Michel tends to his father and seems to be a loving father to his son. He is also rather quiet and lethargic. Later we realize that there is a lot of resentment boiling over under the surface. We learn that Michel does not know the identity of his real father and that he was born in a barn in Quebec. We also know he is an inventor of sorts and not totally successful. Michel heads out to Quebec to try and find his identity.
By coincidence Michael meets Louis. He is a strange man who has never known his father. He lives with his mother. She runs a café in a small town in Quebec. For a short time their lives become intertwined. The basis of intrigue centers on plans for an electric car developed by Louis’s father. I found the concept of the early plans for an electric car quite fascinating. Louis discovers an old video of Expo 67 in Michel’s place. It was such fun to see scenes from that famous event.
I don’t mind mulling over ideas after a film. I rather like that. It is another thing to find it confusing and contrived. Maybe fate really does occur in strange ways