IO CAPITANO -- A Harrowing and Emotional Odyssey Through Africa

Review by Camden Ferrell

Italian director Matteo Garrone follows up his 2019 adaptation of Pinocchio with Io Capitano, a harrowing odyssey through Africa as two Senegalese teenagers try and make their way to Europe. This movie had its premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival and has been nominated at this year’s Academy Awards for Best International Film. While one could take issue with a European director making a film about the plight of African migrants, it’s hard to deny that this is an intensely captivating movie that manages to take hold of you due partly to its impressive young lead actors.
 
Seydou and his cousin Moussa are teenagers in Senegal who have aspirations and yearnings for elsewhere. They both have desires to migrate to Europe to achieve success and also help their families out back at home. However, they are not prepared for the dangerous path to Europe. As they leave Senegal, they enter a journey of danger both manmade and natural. This is a story that many African migrants have lived through, and it’s an experience that is important to highlight.
 
While the foundation of the story is quite simple, the writing manages to still make the movie feel wholly unique. It develops its lead characters well and allows the audience to get easily attached to them and invested in their success. The dialogue isn’t the best at times, but this is compensated for by the great performances and tight pacing. The narrative also feels naturally progressive without being predictable. It’s an uncertain journey, and the writing does a great job at reflecting that without losing sight of natural realism in how the plot progresses.

As mentioned before, the acting in this movie is impressive, especially for such new and inexperienced actors. Seydou Starr leads the film, and he is able to carry himself through the movie almost flawlessly. He has a delicate and unique control over how his young character slowly gets hardened by this odyssey. There are moments of exhaustion, joy, and pure desperation and pain that he nails perfectly. Moustapha Fall co-stars and while his material isn’t nearly as impressive as Seydou’s, he still does a great job playing off of him and having a natural chemistry on screen. Additionally, Issak Sawadogo has a great supporting role despite it being so brief.
 
Being directed by a European, a movie like this one was always at risk of feeling out of touch or exploitative, but Garrone goes to lengths to avoid this. He has expressed his understanding of the nuances and implications of himself directing this African story, and he has done his due diligence to work closely with those who have experienced similar things. As a director, he worked with people who migrated out of Africa and faced the same dangers as Seydou and Moussa. This allowed the movie to not be an observation of these challenges from an outsider, but to be a direct reflection of the immigrant experience. The main success of this movie lies in the fact that the audience doesn’t feel like they’re watching this journey but that they’re a part of it.
 
Io Capitano is hard to watch at times, but it’s an emotional journey from start to finish. It’s beautifully shot and directed, and it’s sadly a story that happens all too often. It might not be the best of this year’s international film nominees at the Oscars, but it’s still a worthwhile experience due to its gripping story and phenomenal acting.
 
Io Capitano is in theaters February 23.

Rating: 4/5