Timbuktu
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
The city of Timbuktu is under the occupation of extremist Islamists bearing a jihadist black flag. Kidane is a cattle herder who lives outside of the city. One day, one of his cows accidentally damages the net of a fisherman. The enraged fisherman kills the cow. Kidane confronts the fisherman and accidentally shoots him dead. The jihadists arrest Kidane and, per sharia law, demand a blood money payment of 40 cattle to the fisherman's family. As Kidane has only seven cattle, he is sentenced to death. His wife shows up at his execution with a pistol, and as they run to each other the husband attempts to stop her. The executioners gun them both down.
Throughout the film there are subsidiary scenes showing the reaction of the population to the jihadists' rule, which are portrayed as absurd. A female fishmonger must wear gloves even when selling fish. Music is banned; a woman is sentenced to 40 lashes for singing, and 40 lashes for being in the same room as a man not of her family. A couple are buried up to their necks in sand and stoned to death for adultery. Young men play football with an imaginary ball as sports are banned. A local imam tries to curb the jihadists' excesses with sermons.
The failure of the occupiers to live up to their own rules is hinted at, for instance when one of them is seen smoking a cigarette. Another group of jihadists from France spend their days talking about their favorite football teams.
Characters speak in Tamasheq, Bambara, Arabic, French, and on a few occasions English. The mobile phone is an important means of communication.

Review: Unsure, also, whether people can tell when different actors use different languages (Arabic, Tuareg, Bambara etc.).The soccer game scene is one of the best I saw this year on the big screen, and the one with the killing of astounding beauty.Definitely a great director at work here, despite obvious limited resources..
Bottom line: there is a good reason why this film is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, as it is a deeply moving film that will stay with you long after you have seen it.The movie finally opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I went to see it right away.
One of the movies that's still in the running for a "Best Foreign Language Film" Oscar nomination, is Timbuktu.
I was expecting brutal large scale massacres along the lines of ISIS in Syria or Iraq, but most of the jihadists' violent actions are selective: a woman receives lashes for singing and a couple is stoned to death for committing adultery.Sissako doesn't focus a great deal of time in fleshing out his victims, although a couple of his characters hit the mark: the odd but interesting Haitian female shaman who isn't afraid to thumb her nose as her oppressors as well as a local Iman who attempts to reason with the jihadists over one of their soldiers taking a young girl as his bride against her wishes.Sissako's main character who constitutes the main part of the narrative, is Kidane, a local herder who lives out in the countryside with his wife and daughter.
Filmed in neighbouring Mauritania, the movie is full of beautiful landscapes, nice buildings and good-looking people.
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.
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.
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Abderrahmane Sissako's ("Bamako") Timbuktu is a series of vignettes depicting the reactions of the people to the harsh laws of the Islamists seeking to impose Sharia law across Mali.
The men are doing "jihad," periodically shooting at the animal with assault weapons as one of the hunters explains the strategy: "Don't kill it, tire it," he says, "That is how we win." The film centers on Kidane (Ibrahim Ahmed), a peaceful Tuareg herdsman who lives with his wife, Satima (Toulou Kiki), their 13-year-old daughter, Toya (Layle Walet Mohamed), and adopted son, Issan (Mehdi A.G. Mohamed) in a tent close to town which is now run by the Islamic police.The family, like others, is forced to live under rules that prohibit smoking, video games, Malian and Western music, and football, though the Jihadists are hypocritical in flouting these same laws themselves.
While the film does not poeticizing injustice, many visual moments are nonetheless works of art: Kidane walking across the water like a Christ figure after killing Amadou and Jihadists shooting into a bush that resembles a female organ.Despite their slogans and bravura, however, Sissako depicts the terrorists as insecure in their beliefs.
Though Sissako does not raise any false hopes about the future, it should be noted that the Jihadists were driven out by French forces after one year in power, and, if the film is correct, much of their success may have been due to the resilience and inner strength of the women of the village who never tired and refused to run..
The fact that this film and director Abderrahmane Sissako has been readily accepted by the western world is not only evidence that audiences are willing to see films depicting extremism, but are willing to accept a more nuanced version than the caricatures we've conjured in out own minds.There are many stories covering the breadth of Timbuktu, though the main and most powerful tale concerns Kidane (Ahmed) and his family.
Another almost absurd aside includes a group of school children playing soccer without a ball since the sport itself is forbidden.The Jihadists themselves are portrayed as foolish hypocrites; sneaking smoldering puffs of cigarettes smoke and conversing about their favorite soccer teams when no one is watching.
"Timbuktu" is a brave film from Mauritania that shows what it's like in a small African town after it's been taken over by Jihadists determined to enforce Sharia Law. However, I should warn you--the film is far from enjoyable and seems rather hopeless and it also lacks the usual resolution you'd expect in a movie.
I said the movie is about nothing less than man's soul and his right to live the life it dictates, whether in religious study and worship to a deity or simply to herd cattle, treasure your family, and strum your guitar.
In Timbuktu, we are exposed to the depths of radicalism and jihadists taking control of a small village where men are suddenly banned from listening music, and women are forced to wear gloves while out on the street.
Despite the regime of terror imposed by the Jihadists, people stay strong, they resist, they still sing, laugh, play music or football.The message is that oppression cannot kill joy, dignity, faith, hope.The movie also shows the difference between Islam and the ideology the rulers are trying to impose.
The blindness and naive tolerance/justification they show towards this threat is not very different from the tolerance/justification many leftish "intellectuals" used in the past to approve of other blatant attacks against freedom and human dignity, as sadly happened for instance with the so-called "cultural" revolution of Mao. The story narrated in Timbuktu is simple, but reflects and involves a complex puzzle of tradition, religion, Western cultural influence on remote areas, the struggling for life in a harsh land with methods of centuries ago while at the same time using modern technological devices...
There is not much positive or enjoyable about watching this movie, but assuming it accurately portrays how a rural African desert town is taken over and administered by conservative, armed Islamists applying strict Sharia law, it is a worthy eye-opener.
(Actually the women in the movie stand strong against the subjugation.) Thus the evil of the "jihadists" (ISIS is never named but a black flag is flown) is contrasted with the normal lives of Muslim people.Sissako, who also wrote the script, is careful to make this distinction—a distinction that a good part of the world is currently working on.
TIMBUKTU 11/29/15 I saw TIMBUKTU directed by ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO - the film was both poetic in its depiction of a sense of place and the relationship of an isolated cattle herder living peacefully and contentedly with his family in a tent under the stars in a sea of sand, herding cows, gently and playfully interacting with his wife and adored 12 year old daughter (who often reaches to the sky to attempt getting a signal for her cell phone - technology has permeated all our lives,) and devastating in its description of what people have to endure living under (AQIM) Al Queda in the Islamic Maghreb in 2012 Mali, particularly when they find themselves in direct conflict with this government.TIMBUKTU shows the brutal rule of Jihadists (as they called themselves) - the hypocrisy, the legal capriciousness in the administration of "justice" and the total disregard for fellow Muslims under their authority - who are equally devout, but in contrast to those now in power, humane in the interpretation of their beliefs.
My God is Better Than Your God. Orthodox fundamentalism, whether its Judaism, Christianity or Islam, comes down to a self selected few using the arrogance of power (usually with guns) to destroy, humiliate, plunder, rape and all with justification from, again, self-selected, ambiguous translations of what someone, thousands of years ago, said was conveyed by their God. In the film they are described as: "Fundamentalists are ordinary people who have lost their humanity."In Timbuktu, Mali we have such a group, Ansar Dine, destroying a culture and history that goes back a thousand years and more.
Football/soccer along with music are banned, yet in a defiance-of-spirit the youth play imaginary soccer (no ball) and a woman sings while being beaten.In the end we see the future; frightened children running, lost, across a desert landscape being chased by extremists, just as these same extremists earlier chased down a frightened gazelle.A similar film on fundamentalism, "God Loves Uganda", had these quotes: "When the righteous rule the people rejoice." and "The reward of sin is death, the Bible says.".
Sometimes it has kind of documentary character, when you see as well the daily problems of the Jihadists, and sometimes the movie slides into a tale when there is a witch appearing, or as we follow up on the story of the herder family, or just beautifully shots of landscapes and light music come into play.
Overall, I'd say it's a mixed bag, even if I do admire what it's trying to do.The film follows the people of Timbuktu who are powerless against Jihadists who want to control their fate.
Although the film has some other minor stories, it's essentially about a family led by a cattle herder named Kidane, his wife, Satima, their daughter Toya, and a twelve-year old shepherd named Issan.What I liked about Timbuktu was the relationship between the father, his wife, and their daughter.
Another sequence I liked that included a musical score, involved a group of African people playing soccer, until they are caught by some of the members of the Jihadists.
Whippings, rocks being thrown at people's heads and other violent acts are shown in the film, making it more realistic.However, for as much as I might praise the movie, there were a number of things there were other sequences that did not work for me, for example, when the African is getting interrogated for illegal playing soccer in the city, it just didn't seem to go anywhere afterwards, and the character is quickly dropped.
Timbuktu is a well-made movie, but some people might find the film hard to sit through, given that there are a few disturbing scenes.
Numerous incidents arise as fundamentalist Islam is forced onto an African society.The slow pace of the film matches the rhythm of Timbuktu and gives us time to contemplate what was and what has become of an ancient city synonymous to Westerners as a foreign land far away.
We also observe jihadists as humans with their weaknesses, for example smoking cigarettes when they think nobody is watching.I saw this film twice.
Sissako enlightens us with his direct film, through use of shallow focuses and a balance between close ups (an extreme one on the dying cow) and long shots (an amazing one on the river at the end of the struggle between the shepherd and the fisherman).
It gives you the understanding of the things we take for granted, like not living under a military rule that outlaws singing, certain social gatherings in which the outcome of punishment is far too great.Otherwise, to be honesty the movie is gets over my head a lot.
I get that it's hard to think only within the limits of the film commission, but in so many years there is time to hone and refine the silly project story into an excellent movie..
Timbuktu - a devastating yet often beautiful film about life (and death) in Mali amongst the chaos of 'jihadi' rule and Sharia law.
The story is told by using a farmer called Kidane (Ibrahim Ahmed) he lives in the dunes with his wife, daughter and their young herdsman.The Jihadists (we are never told what group they are) rule the town with an iron fist.
They have a Sharia court that pass down sentences that seem arbitrary beyond cruel and it is not long before Kidane and his family come under their thrall.Now this is one of those films that seems at times to be bland in the mundanity of recording everyday life; however, the fact that life can be this hard, unfair and downright miserable is the story and to say it is powerful is a massive understatement.
Powerful, evocative & thoroughly engrossing, Timbuktu is a riveting portrait of life under regime of terror that brilliantly illustrates the absurdity of extremist mentality in a sardonic manner while also showcasing the hypocrisy of the Jihadists who themselves are unable to live up to the rules they so blatantly like to impose on the general population.Timbuktu covers everyday life in the titular city of Mali which is under the occupation of Islamists & covers the harsh life its residents are forced to live for all leisurely activities are forbidden.
Sissako's direction exhibits terrific restraint but the script is unable to fill all the voids that exist in between.The desolate locations & deserted set pieces evoke a grim environment with nearly no signs of life, camera is effectively utilised to capture all the unfolding drama in a clear, concise manner, Editing however is a mixed bag for the subsidiary scenes are more engaging than the basic plot, its 96 minutes of runtime feels overly stretched, and music makes its presence felt only when it is required.Coming to the performances, the entire cast does really well in bringing their characters to life with utmost sincerity & what further helps their act is that the people they play aren't mere caricatures, thanks to some sensible writing.
The film is a very interesting look at that way of life; but it spends a little too much time introducing lots of different characters.
A shepherd living in the desert with his wife and 12 year- old daughter are confronted by radical Muslims who terrorize them and the nearby villagers with laws forbidding music, smoking and soccer, among other things.
Timbuktu is of course the most famous city in the west African state of Mali and this film is set in 2012 when jihadist forces overran the northern part of the country, but the whole work was shot in neighbouring Mauritania with Oualata standing in for the eponymous city.
At different times, no less than five languages are used, so every viewer will need subtitles.Sissako's fine film shows the impact of the Islamic extremists on the local population and, while there are some scenes of great cruelty, the silliness of the fundamentalists is brought out in gently comedic encounters.
And they are just a few of the dismaying plot points that make up "Timbuktu," a pertinent and topical French-Mauritanian film that offers a glimpse into what life is like for a group of ordinary people being forced to live under the iron-fisted rule of an Islamic caliphate.In style and form, "Timbuktu" is about as far from a Hollywood production as any movie on this subject could possibly be.
It's about a village that is taken over by jihadi extremists who impose strict rules (e.g. music and women wearing gloves) the villagers struggle to obey, as do some of the jihadists (one smokes despite it being forbidden).
The story lacks any focus, it keeps jumping to random scenes within the village.The main plot is advertised as a cow herder and his family struggling to live within this regime but the fact is only about a third of the film is devoted to this.
Since this movie is short not much time is used to develop any of the characters (in fact I think there isn't any at all).The film is slow paced.
It draws you in with the beautiful cinematography and keeps you there with the story.Set in historically famous Timbuktu, Mali; we see that the territory has been taken over by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) as the black standard flag of the jihadist group flys.Their rule of law is strict and adheres to their own interpretation of Shariah.
The tensions between the imam and the jihadist leadership are another interesting thread in the story.Give this film a look, you won't be disappointed and it provides key insight to the challenges terrorist groups put on local communities..
But I think that the producers of this film were able to show what a real extremist group would be like, always having guns, enforcing every little thing to the way they see it best.
This movie presents a very accurate amount of detail on the treatment of women in Mali, but that's also happening in other countries as well.In this film, many women and men were not able to do activities that are common in the daily lives of others living in America and Europe, like singing, or playing soccer.
My favorite scene like many others who have seen this film would be when the young boys were pretending to play soccer without an actual ball, because it was forbidden by the extremist laws.
Another poetic scene happens during the film when a man is sentenced to 20 lashes for knowing that football is forbidden and still choosing to play.
At the opening of the film it seems like it will be a movie with good commentary on jihadists enforcing their law on their territory.
This is the second time I have watched the film Timbuktu.
The beautiful and troubling film 'Timbuktu', set during the Islamist take-over of Northern Mali, reframes this story.From the opening scenes, when the local Imam orders the Jihadists out of the mosque, it is clear these men have neither spiritual nor moral authority.