You are here:

The Woman with the Knife

Name: The Woman with the Knife
Director: Timité Bassori
Released: 2010
Duration: 77 min

Representation Score

6.6/10

Good

2010

Director

Timité Bassori

Runtime

77 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film stands out by deconstructing post-colonial identity, using the protagonist's internal conflict to critique the tension between Western intellectualism and African tradition. It moves beyond simple representation to offer a sophisticated psychological study of cultural displacement. While the gender representation is strong due to the subversion of traditional female roles, the LGBTQ+ elements remain somewhat ambiguous, focusing more on repression than explicit identity. The film's greatest strength lies in its refusal to adopt a Western-centric lens. Overall, the work provides a complex, ability to act-driven portrayal of cultural conflict that challenges conventional narrative structures.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The Woman with the Knife have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film examines psychological barriers to intimacy through the protagonist's sexual inhibition. Although specific identities are not confirmed, the focus on desire and repression suggests a move away from assumptions that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does The Woman with the Knife portray gender?

Good

The central woman disrupts traditional hierarchies by acting as a powerful, disruptive force. She avoids the passive 'nurturing female' cliché, instead serving as an agent of psychological upheaval for the male protagonist.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Woman with the Knife?

Excellent

The narrative centers an Ivorian experience, exploring the friction between Western modernity and African traditions. This approach challenges monolithic identities by highlighting the complexities of the post-colonial condition.

How does The Woman with the Knife represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The story critiques Western influence by framing modernist views as a source of alienation. It prioritizes a culturally specific morality over a universalist Western framework, highlighting the friction caused by Westernization.

Does The Woman with the Knife include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evidence within the narrative regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Present on Screen

Sophisticated exploration of post-colonial identity and the tension between Western and African traditions.
Subversion of traditional gender roles through a powerful, disruptive female character.
Critique of Western hegemony and its psychological impact on indigenous stability.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit clarity regarding specific LGBTQ+ identities within the exploration of sexual inhibition.
Absence of representation regarding physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

A young, unnamed Ivorian intellectual returns home after a lengthy spell in France. Failing to reconcile his new-found modernist views with his African traditions, and obsessed with his sexual inhibition, the man becomes haunted by the specter of a knife-brandishing woman threatening to shatter any potential relationships with other women.

How are these scores produced? →