Yeelen (no 48)

by Allan Fish

(Mali 1987 105m) DVD1

Aka. Brightness

The magic post

p  Souleymane Cissé  d/w  Souleymane Cissé  ph  Jean-Noël Ferragut, Jean-Michel Humeau  ed  Dounamba Coulibaly, Andrée Daventure, Marie-Catherine Mique  m  Michel Portal, Salif Keita  art  Kossa Mody Keita

Issiaka Kane (Nianankoro), Niamanto Sanogo (Soma/Djigui), Aoua Sangare (Attou), Balla Moussa Keita (Rouma Boll, the Peul King), Sountha Traore (Mah), Ismaila Sarr (Bofing), Youssouf Cissé (small boy), Koke Sangare (chief of the Komo), Youssouf Coulibaly, Manzon Coumare, Souleymane Coumare, Sidi Diallo, Nadje Doumbla, Zan Doumbla,

Souleymane Cissé’s shamanistic drama is certainly not a film for everyone.  It’s leisurely, almost funereal in places.  Not a lot happens for long stretches of time and the plot itself cannot mean as much to those unversed in Mali customs and heritage as those who are, and yet somehow it grabs hold of you, tightly drawing you into its magical tale until you fall under its spell.  Jonathan Rosenbaum called it the greatest African film ever made and, despite the talents of Ousmane Sembene – whose Moolaadé has already been covered – it’s hard to argue with him.

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