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Sexual tourism in the midst of political brutality in late 1970s Haiti is the premise of French director Laurent Cantet’s latest film, Heading South. This powerful film, adapted from three short stories by Dany Laferriere, examines issues concerning age and self-worth, as well as indifference masked as ignorance.
The Haitian shore serves as an enchanted escape for white middle-aged North Americans. Three of them are the focus of this film. Ellen (Charlotte Rampling), Brenda (Karen Young) and Sue (Louise Portal) pay for sex and the adoration of handsome young Haitian men. Removed from the poverty and corruption in Port-au-Prince, this life becomes an unfortunate necessity for the male lovers. It also provides a temporary escape for them as well.
Ellen, a haughty 55-year-old French literature teacher, has vacationed at this particular hotel every summer for six years. Preferring not to go into town, and thus ignoring the blatant crime and deprivation, she spends her days basking in the sun, surrounded by her youthful companions. All is well until Brenda, a 47-year old from Savannah, Georgia, arrives to rekindle a three-year fantasy. Both she and Ellen have eyes for 18-year-old Legba, exquisitely portrayed by non-professional actor Menothy Cesar.
The disapproving hotel headwaiter, Albert (Lys Ambroise), conveys an angry view of these women and their men, as well as a disdain for white American tourists in general. He briefly speaks of the 1915 U.S. occupation of Haiti. Personally, I wish the film would have probed more extensively into this period of his family’s history and resentment.
Not far from the luxury of the resort is the town, which is the reality for these young men. Life under dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc) was cruel and unforgiving. Though not ruthless like his father, Francoise Duvalier (Papa Doc), Jean-Claude’s indifference led to corruption and brutal practices by police and the military. The film demonstrates this as fantasy eventually clashes with the reality.
It would have been far too easy for Cantet to simply villanize these self-absorbed women. Instead he explores their core with the help of short monologues that explain their motives as well as their pain.
As the movie ended, the theater was silent. Disturbing, yet thought-provoking, this movie will remain with me for many nights to come. After all, isn’t that a quality of an exceptional film? Heading South, which won the Cinema for Peace Award at the 2005 Venice Film Festival, is in French, English and Creole.
