Written by Alina Faulds
72/100
The Eagle’s Nest is a thrilling debut feature from up and coming British-Cameroonian director Olivier Assousa. The Eagle’s Nest finds Paris (Claude S Mbida Nkou) and Samantha (Felicity Asseh), best friends and sex workers, living in their rural village in Cameroon. Paris, appropriately named, dreams of leaving behind everything and moving to France, her sex work is a means to achieve this goal. Samantha on the other hand uses her work in the sex industry to further her standing in Cameroon. Both women are seeking to escape from their current lives, but after a night of work ends in tragedy, both women are pulled back into their familiar violent worlds.
The Eagle’s Nest employs traditional themes in African films, the desire to leave the continent for a better life, and the love for Africa keeping their characters home. In addition to the desire to escape, multiple other themes are explored such as violence, patriarchal societies, the search for truth and friendship. The Eagle’s Nest does get muddled as it delves into all of these elements, but brilliant performances and chemistry from Nkou and Asseh pull the film along. The two women are the film’s most compelling characters, Paris’ ripped jeans and combat boots and Samantha’s blue dress and Africa-shaped earrings are both iconic wardrobe choices. Their clothes are totally reflective of their desires, Paris’ need to rebel and Samantha’s need for home. The film’s setting is also visually stunning and reminiscent of Paris and Samantha’s ambitions, with wide-open shots of Cameroon’s nature and claustrophobic scenes in village huts.
Much of the scenes in The Eagle’s Nest are quite grim but the film never has the guts to properly dive into the violence. Much of it is glossed over or fails to hit hard, though this can largely be chalked up to The Eagle’s Nest’s minuscule budget. At some points, it gets a little too campy and sometimes it’s a little too dramatic. The film needed to completely go in one of these directions to work better. English language songs also take the viewer out of the film, a weird juxtaposition to Cameroon’s French culture. Despite its fluctuating tone, The Eagle’s Nest remains a compelling film because of Paris and Samantha’s relationship. With high tension and hostilities, it’s easy to understand their desire to escape the patriarchal violence and inequalities plaguing the women in Cameroon, especially as the plot escalates. Paris and Samantha are the emotional core of The Eagle’s Nest, dragging the viewer along as they seek vengeance. The Eagle’s Nest is an interesting take on emigration, with two conflicting characters and their conflicting wants.
The Eagle’s Nest Trailer
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The Eagle’s Nest screened as part of the 2020 edition of Raindance Film Festival.
Raindance Film Festival Website: https://cinema.raindance.org/
