Hélène Diarra Movies
- 2007
First-time feature filmmaker Salif Traore follows in the footsteps of master filmmaker Ousmane Sembene with this drama that follows a bastard who returns to his rural Mali village after being cast out many years back. Zanga (Fili Traoré) was born out of wedlock, making him a figure of scorn to the locals. Many years after being unceremoniously ejected from the village, Zanga returns wearing the façade of a successful engineer determined to usher his village into the modern era - much to the consternation of the superstitious villagers who previously shunned him. When a young villager drowns in a nearby river, the locals draw the conclusion that river goddess Faro is enraged by Zanga's return. But Zanga isn't about to be run off before he finds out the identity of his biological father and helps improve the lives of the local villagers. Meanwhile, as the tide of anger grows, the local chief makes the call for a sacrifice. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fily Traore, Djénéba Koné, (more)
Abderrahmane Sissako wrote and directed this offbeat, satiric comedy which imagines how the powers that be in the West might be forced to answer for the damage they've done in the Third World. Mele (Aissa Maiga) is an attractive Malian lounge singer married to Chaka (Tiecoura Traore), though their relationship is on the verge of collapse. In their eyes, the African continent isn't in much better shape than their marriage, and one day a makeshift courtroom appears in the courtyard near their shabby home. In the courtyard, a handful of powerful international organizations, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are put on trial for their crippling effect on the African economy; as the evidence is presented which explains how these "friends" of Africa have saddled the nations with debts they can never repay, witnesses explain how these actions impact the daily lives of ordinary citizens, who pass through the trial as they go on with their days. Executive producer Danny Glover makes a cameo appearance in a "Cowboys and Indians" sequence which supposedly takes place in Timbuktu. Bamako (aka The Court) received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aïssa Maïga, Hélène Diarra, (more)
German-born filmmaker Michael Haneke continues the bleak, formalist experimentation of his 1994 breakthrough 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance with this similarly fragmented tale of racism, intolerance, and hatred in modern-day Paris. The focus of the narrative is split between three sets of people: the French actress Anne (Juliette Binoche), her husband and in-laws; a Romanian woman, Maria (Luminita Gheorghiu), who struggles to raise money for her family back home; and Amadou (Ona Lu Yenke), a teacher for the deaf who is at odds with his resolute African clan. The catalyst for the stories begins on a streetcorner, where Anne's brother-in-law Jean (Alexandre Hamadi) insults Maria, who is begging for change; incensed, Amadou picks a fight with Jean, resulting in negative repercussions for the triptych of protagonists. Throughout, Haneke punctuates the action with his unique editing and use of sound. After its Cannes debut, Code Inconnu made its North American premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Luminita Gheorghiu, (more)
- 1997
This spirited and humorous tale, based on an oral legend of the Dogon people of northeastern Mali, is the story of a clever young woman who turns the tables on the men folk in her village when she steals a demon's power and uses it to make life easier for her sisters. In hard-working Yamene's village, it is believed that evil spirits haunt the perimeter and that anyone who leaves the town's confines at night will be driven insane. One day, Yamene discovers that her lazy husband has neglected to fetch wood for the evening fire. Irritated, Yamene leaves the village to get the wood herself. She isn't long in the brush before she encounters a tiny band of spirits and their tall, creepy leader. Yamene fights with the creature, steals its mask and returns home. Tired of her husband's sloth and macho posturing, she dons the demon's mask and proclaims in a loud voice that women and men must trade roles. To that end, women give the men their pagnes (the cotton clothes they wrap around themselves like a skirt--the film's literal translation is "the power of the pagne") and set about loafing under shade trees while the men get busy cooking, bringing water and cleaning. The grumbling fellows are too afraid of the "demon" to rebel. Yamene is faced with a tough decision when her daughter brings home a battered woman who warns that terrible things will happen if she doesn't return the mask. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanta Berete, Ramata Drabo, (more)
- 1990
This film, directed by Malian director Cheick Oumar Sissoku confronts the patriarchal traditions of Mali, including the controversial issue of female circumcision. A recent widow, Nanyuma feels liberated from the cruel treatment of her late husband but is ordered by the village chief to marry her husband's equally oafish brother. She leaves the village and hides with her niece Fili but is eventually forced to return. Although her resistance to her culture's rigid traditions stirs her people to a higher level of awareness of freedom and social independence, Nanyuma realizes that her only chance at claiming her own freedom will be by leaving her community. The film's satiric approach is modeled after a theatrical tradition native to Mali.
~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
