Muna Moto Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
In a close-knit village in Cameroon, the rigid customs governing courtship and marriage mean that a deeply in love betrothed couple can be torn apart by the lack of a dowry and by another man's claiming of the young woman as his own wifea rupture that sets the stage for a clash between a patriarchal society and a modern generation's determination to chart its own course.
For more about Muna Moto and the Muna Moto Blu-ray release, see Muna Moto Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on February 17, 2023 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.
Criterion is often described as the very paradigm of a "niche" collector label, and in that regard, there may be nothing Criterion has offered over the
years that is more "niche" than their series of World Cinema Project offerings, all bearing the rather notable imprimatur of one
Martin Scorsese. This fourth volume follows in the footsteps of the previous three collections and offers another often bracing aggregation of little
or at least
lesser known films, some from rather unusual places and also at times addressing subjects that are not regular fodder for big budget Hollywood
extravaganzas.
Reviews of the previous three volumes in this series, all of which offer some really interesting and worthwhile films, are accessible by clicking on the
following links:
One of the subtexts that informs at least some of the other offerings in this fourth volume of World Cinema Project is the rigors and devastating
effects of colonial occupation on "native" cultures, but rather bracingly Muna Moto reveals that even "native" cultures can have their own
issues with tradition and oppression, leading to at least serious dismay, if not outright tragedy. Muna Moto takes what is in essence a kind
of Cameroonian version of Romeo and Juliet and refracts it through the story of two
"star crossed lovers" named Ngando (David Endene) and Ndomé (Arlette Din Bell) who aren't really kept apart due to any interfamily animus, but
more because of local customs governing the need of a sizable dowry in
order to get married.
While the underlying story here is relatively straightforward, and (as with some others in this collection) absolutely "fraught" from an emotional
perspective, director Jean-Pierre Dikongué Pipa further stylizes things by deconstructing the narrative into an unchronological set of flashback
vignettes, with
the veritable "fourth wall" coming close to be shattered on several occasions. The film's alternate title The Child of Another alludes to some
roiling consequences stemming from what amounts to Ndomé's forced marriage to another even after becoming pregnant with Ngando's child.
Muna Moto is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Some introductory
text before the main feature provides the following information on the restoration:
This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, the Pan African
Federation of Filmmakers and UNESCO - in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna - to help locate, restore and disseminate African cinema.
The 4K restoration of Muna moto was made from the 35 mm original camera and sound negatives and a second generation duplicate
negative.
Despite wet gate scanning to minimize mold damage, some sections of the camera negative had to be replaced by scanning the duplicate negative.
Following director Dikongué Pipa's suggestion, the duplicate negative was also used for the opening and closing cards, which differed from the
original
negative. A vintage 35 mm print was used as a reference for picture grading.
Even more detailed information is imparted in Criterion's insert booket:
Muna Moto is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. This digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an Arriscan film scanner
from the 35 mm original camera negative. . .The monaural soundtrack was restored from the 35 mm original soundtrack negative. The film was
restored in 2019 by the Cineteca di Bologna / L'Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, with special thanks to the
Cinematheque Royale de Belgique.
The back cover of the DigiPack mentions the "luminous black and white cinematography" and this transfer preserves a really lush and nicely
modulated accounting of both general gray scale as well as the tonal extremes toward white and black. While not specifically addressed in any of the
technical information imparted in this set (that I could find, anyway), the IMDb actually discloses a 16 mm source, which may explain a somewhat
pronounced grain field, one which nonetheless resolves without any issues. Some of the outdoor material (most of the film takes place outside) can
show noticeable variances in detail levels, some of which is due to lighting conditions, but on the whole fine detail is secure, especially in some of the
close-ups. I'm assuming the use of the secondary element accounts for some interstitial moments of relatively fuzziness, though any mold issues
seem to have been largely ameliorated.
Muna Moto features an LPCM Mono track in a combo platter of languages including French, Duala and Basaa. The film's sound design is in
some ways just as stylized as its visual component, with ethnic drums filling the air and with a number of other almost near hallucinogenic effects at
times in terms of crowd noises or even the background clamor of village life. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English
subtitles are available.
Criterion has packaged Chess of the Wind and Muna Moto together on one disc. After selecting an individual film, supplements
exclusive to that film are then accessible, as follows:
Martin Scorsese Introduction (HD; 3:16)
The Many Moods of Muna Moto (HD; 18:23) features Dikong---- and African cinema historian and film critic Ferid Boughedir.
Subtitled in English.
A long and detailed essay about Muna Moto in Criterion's lavish insert booklet included with this release states that Dikongué Pipa considers
this to be a very personal story "ripped from the headlines" of actual individual experience, but the film still has a universal message about the dangers
of "tradition". Technical merits are solid (especially considering the damage that was apparently on display), and the main supplement very enjoyable.
Recommended.
Blu-ray Bundles/Box Sets with Muna Moto (1 bundle)
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