Timbuktu

“Abderrahmane Sissako can no longer be called one of the greatest African directors of our time; he has become, simply, one of the greatest directors of our time.”—Peter Labuza, Film Stage

One of the most acclaimed movies from 2014’s major film festival circuit and recently nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, Abderrahmane Sissako’s new film looks at the terror and humiliation of occupation with an uncommonly serene eye. The film takes place in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu, where foreign jihadists are enforcing bans against sports, music, loafing, and bareheaded women. Sissako gracefully pivots between multiple characters: some of whom are seen only fleetingly, and others we come to know intimately. Visually, Timbuktu is a series of wonders. Once seen, many of the film’s striking images are not easily forgotten. And Sissako’s becalmed and sensitive eye for beauty intensifies the absurdity and horror of the film’s quietly unfolding tragedy—and shows without doubt that he is one of contemporary cinema’s greatest humanists. (97 mins., DCP)