El Hadji In The Film Xala

Xala (Senegal, Ousamane Sembene, 1975) is a film that follows the decline and the downfall of one of the African businessmen, who is into the selling of rice in the black market to fund the addition of a third new wife to his family. But in a larger sense, Sembene also is commenting on the African failures capitalism and also the tradition of corruption which is inherited from the colonial times. In Xala (Senegal, Ousamane Sembene, 1975) Sembene shows how each situation defines El Hadji, which shows his real character from how he treats the beggars and also when he discover that he has xala. Sembene also makes the audience to feel compassionate toward El Hadji. El Hadji is a wealthy Senegalese businessman who is in his fifties, and he is a …show more content…
Sembene introduces El Hadji first appearance as a gentle, calm and respectful man, who appears to be in his close-cropped hair which is streaked in white. Sembene also introduced him as a person who carries his fifty odd years well. El Hadji lives an entirely secular life, and he is a Muslim who never took his religion seriously. To a devoted Muslim, pilgrimage is the culmination of a devout life, but to him, it was merely just a vacation. As the film goes on, each situation El Hadji’s find himself define who he is. El Hadji discovers he is unable to perform in the bedroom, and the scene occurs right after the third wife tells her aunt that nothing happened and that she is still a virgin. In a medium shot, the camera pans to the left as the women move toward El Hadji, and they start to questioning him. El Hadji then leaves the house, in a full shot, the camera pans toward the left as he walks toward the gate, and to the road. This scene illustrates that for the first time, El Hadji feels that he is not in control of a situation, which makes him miserable, and leaves him confused. Also, in the movie Xala (Senegal, Ousamane Sembene, 1975) shows the audience a scene right