Timbuktu

20142014
PG-13PG-13
1h 36min

7.2/10

A cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed... Read allA cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed.A cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed.

7.2/10

17K

Director
- Abderrahmane Sissako
Writers
- Abderrahmane Sissako(screenplay)
- Kessen Tall(screenplay)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 29 wins & 21 nominations total

Videos3

TIMBUKTU Official Trailer

Mehdi A.G. Mohamed and Layla Walet Mohamed in Timbuktu (2014)

Toulou Kiki, Ibrahim Ahmed, and Layla Walet Mohamed in Timbuktu (2014)

Abderrahmane Sissako, Mehdi A.G. Mohamed, and Layla Walet Mohamed in Timbuktu (2014)

Fatoumata Diawara at an event for Timbuktu (2014)

Abel Jafri, Abderrahmane Sissako, and Hichem Yacoubi at an event for Timbuktu (2014)

Fatoumata Diawara, Abel Jafri, Kettly Noël, Abderrahmane Sissako, Hichem Yacoubi, Toulou Kiki, Ibrahim Ahmed, Adel Mahmoud Cherif, and Weli Kleïb at an event for Timbuktu (2014)

Sonia Rolland at an event for Timbuktu (2014)

Abel Jafri, Kettly Noël, Abderrahmane Sissako, Hichem Yacoubi, Toulou Kiki, and Ibrahim Ahmed at an event for Timbuktu (2014)

Not far from the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu, proud cattle herder Kidane (Ibrahim Ahmed aka Pino) lives peacefully in the dunes with his wife Satima (Toulou Kiki), his daughter Toya (Layla Walet Mohamed), and Issan (Mehdi Ag Mohamed), their twelve-year-old shepherd. In town, the people suffer, powerless, from the regime of terror imposed by the Jihadists determined to control their faith. Music, laughter, cigarettes, even soccer have been banned. The women have become shadows but resist with dignity. Every day, the new improvised courts issue tragic and absurd sentences. Kidane and his family are being spared the chaos that prevails in Timbuktu. But their destiny changes abruptly. —Anonymous

desert islamic fundamentalism tuareg mali timbuktu 90 more

Genres
- Drama
- War
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements
Parents guide

Trivia
The scene in which the cow was killed with a spear was done by sedating the cow under the supervision of a veterinarian and adding the spear digitally in post production - the animal was not harmed.

Goofs
In the stoning scene, both man and woman are buried up to their necks. In a proper Islamic stoning (rajm), the woman should only be buried up to her waist.

Quotes
Omar: Satima?
Satima: I'm listening.
Omar: I'm Abdelkarim's driver. I have a message from him: "He can't do anything to help. It's over".

Connections
Featured in The Oscars (2015)

Soundtracks
Shooting The Statues
Composed, Arranged and Orchestrated By Amin Bouhafa
with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
© 2014 Universal Music France

Top review

9/10

Hard to watch but a brilliant achievement

I don't believe there is one frame in this film that is not gorgeous, that couldn't be displayed as a photograph at a gallery. The muted colors of the desert, the medieval architecture of the town, the tragically expressive faces always glowing in a magical light--all of it is almost painfully beautiful. The story is beyond tragic. By seemingly digressing into numerous anecdotes illustrating the quirks of the population, the director allows us to appreciate deeply the texture and social fabric of the community that is being poisoned by madness. We see in particular its effect on an extremely appealing but by no means sanctified family. This is one of the film's extraordinary strengths as well. No character is oversimplified; even the appalling jihadists are granted their humanity. I've seen "Boyhood" and "Birdman", the apparent favorites for the Oscar. "Timbuktu" utterly blows both those fine movies out of the water.

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