Timbuktu (2014)

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.

Director:

Abderrahmane Sissako

Writers:

Abderrahmane Sissako (screenplay), Kessen Tall (screenplay)

Stars:

Ibrahim Ahmed, Abel Jafri, Toulou Kiki

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 28 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ibrahim Ahmed	...	Kidane (as Ibrahim Ahmed dit Pino)
Abel Jafri	...	Abdelkerim
Toulou Kiki	...	Satima
Layla Walet Mohamed	...	Toya
Mehdi A.G. Mohamed	...	Issan
Hichem Yacoubi	...	Djihadiste
Kettly Noël	...	Zabou
Fatoumata Diawara	...	La chanteuse
Adel Mahmoud Cherif	...	L'Imam
Salem Dendou	...	Le chef djihadiste
Mamby Kamissoko	...	Djihadiste
Yoro Diakité	...	Djihadiste
Cheik A.G. Emakni	...	Omar
Zikra Oualet Moussa	...	Tina
Weli Kleïb	...	Juge (as Weli Cleib)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | islamic fundamentalism | tuareg | mali | timbuktu | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Cohen Media Group [United States] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Mauritania France

Language:

French Arabic Bambara English Songhay Tamashek

Release Date:

10 December 2014 (France)

Also Known As:

Timbuktu

Filming Locations:

Mauritania

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,110, 1 February 2015

Gross USA:

$1,076,075

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,179,391

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Worso, Dune Vision, Arches Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First ever submission of Mauritania to the best foreign language film category of the Academy Awards.

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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".

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Connections

Featured in The Oscars (2015)

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Soundtracks

The Fisherman
Arranged and Orchestrated By Amin Bouhafa
with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
© 2014 Universal Music France

User Reviews

A remarkable study in repression set amidst stunning beauty.

"Let me say this loud and clear. There is a world of difference between terrorist acts and the Islamic Shari'a. Islam is not only a religion, but a way of life. And at its heart lie the sacred principles of tolerance and dialogue." King Hussein I

A popular cliché is to refer to "Timbuktu" as the farthest, out-of-it-all place on earth, like "You can go to Timbuktu for all I care." However, in writer/ director Abderrahmane Sissako's remarkable film, Timbuktu, the world rests in miniature in the sand dunes of gorgeous Mali, where a Bedouin family can languish in the shade of their tent while a small boy herds their cattle and nearby fishmongers ply their trade by a welcoming pond. It is a world seemingly removed from stress, a paradise.

In the cell-phone age, no one is too far away and paradise easily shattered, as the natives use their phones to coordinate their herds and their lives. So do the Muslim jihadists, who use their phones to control the natives, bending them to their will on such mundane matters as wearing gloves and playing music. In a way, the low-key policing by the jihadists employing Shari'a seems to contrast with the notorious ISIS, whose control extends to burning and beheading.

All is relatively tame until one Bedouin's pregnant cow is killed by a fishmonger, and the herder murders in revenge. The Long-distance wide-angle shot of the two men in a death struggle is remarkably beautiful and ominous, like David Lean's memorable Lawrence of Arabia scenes.

The local jihadist authority follows God's law in this case while it takes a woman into custody for not wearing gloves and carries out murderous punishment on musicians. This tranquil paradise slowly becomes a hotbed of repression while the director still shoots lovely scenes that belie the suppression already reaching into the lives that seemed so far removed.

Underneath the obvious meting out of "justice" is the subjugation of women, almost as if radical Muslim orthodoxy had this prejudice as its cornerstone. This film drives that oppression home as few others have done because it makes it a quiet but persistent issue in daily activity. The very peacefulness of the living in Mali and the sweet sparseness of the mise en scene could almost make us think the radicalism is acceptable. But when you see men buried in sand and rocks thrown at their heads, you know life in the sand in not romantic.

Timbuktu is rated PG-13, a triumph in good taste as murder and subjugation are the dominant activities. A film that allows young persons to see the world's injustices through a beautiful lens is a film worth sharing in the hope of removing radical Islamists from paradise. Let them have their virgins and soon.