The Fence / Le Cri des Gardes

Watched The Fence / Le Cri des Gardes at the NZ International Film Festival, made by Claire Denis of Beau Travail fame, and it was again a movie set on the borders of European exploitation of Africa (Senegal in this case), with the actual fences around the construction compound a physical and metaphorical barrier between two worlds. Quite a claustrophobic story set in one hot night with all the oppression and violence playing out before denouement as the sun rises. Starring Matt Dillon, who has aged quite well since Rumble Fish, and a creepy but charismatic Tom Blyth, whose shower scene was a lost opportunity. But the ensemble cast (the film is based on a play) of Europeans, Americans and Africans worked quite well and had shades of Robert Altman's method of making movies.