Pornotropic - Marguerite Duras and the colonial illusion

When Marguerite Duras published "The Sea Wall" in 1950, she came very close to winning the Prix Goncourt. But, as France suffered its first military defeats in Indochina, how could she be rewarded for daring to offer an account of colonial disillusionment? Miserable little whites, corrupt administration, forced labour, widespread prostitution... the book sounds like a ferocious indictment, far from the colonial postcard. From imaginary pornography to economic pimping, 70 years after its publication, "The Sea wall" continues to resonate in the current postcolonial debate. Through the representation of bodies that Marguerite Duras stages in her book, the film reveals, in a sensitive and unprecedented way, a French Empire where race and gender predetermine the future of everyone.