Xala (ˈxala, curse) is a 1975 Senegalese film directed by Ousmane Sembène

Ousmane Sembène

Ousmane Sembène , often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer...

. It is an adaptation of Sembène's own 1973 novel of the same name

Xala (novel)

Xala is a 1973 novel by Ousmane Sembène. It is about El Hadji Abdou Kader Beye, a businessman who is struck by impotence on the night of his wedding to his third wife. It was adapted into a movie, also called Xala and directed by Sembene....

. The film depicts El Hadji, a politician in Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

, who is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife. The film satirizes the corruption in African post-independence governments couples with extreme penile failure; El Hadji's impotence symbolizes the failure of such governments to be useful at all.http://film.guardian.co.uk/Century_Of_Films/Story/0,4135,414318,00.html The film ranked #83 in Empire

Empire (magazine)

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...

magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.

External links

• Guardian Review