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Mahaleo (2004)
2004. 102 minutes. France / Madagascar. Producers: Marie-Clèmence Paes, Cesar Paes, Raymond Rajaonarivelo. Documentary
In French and Malagasy with English subtitles. Few musical groups have expressed so eloquently or consistently the aspirations of their people as the Malagasy septet Mahaleo. This film celebrates this intimate relationship as the group prepares for its 30th anniversary concert in 2002. The seven members of the group have not become professional musicians but have maintained their roots in the community. They are working to develop their country as a neurosurgeon, a sociologist, a general practitioner, community regional developers and a parliamentary deputy. Their daily contact with the people and with their daily joys and despair, doubtless account for the unprecedented popularity of their music. Mahaleo also shows how the repeated hopes and disappointments of the post-independence period have generated the island’s modern myths, the songs of Mahaleo.