In Moussa Touré's great film, a Senegalese fisherman is hired by some Dakar businessmen to transport 30 black Africans to Europe. The trip takes seven days. The ship is big but is by no means big enough to guarantee anything like a safe journey across a major body of water. This is a ship filled with dreams that can be easily dashed by the powerful waves and storms of the Atlantic Ocean. The film's ending, like much of its plot, will not surprise anyone. Dreams like these are meant to be broken. (CHARLES MUDEDE)