Timbuktu

 Abderrahmane Sissako's Timbuktu is a well constructed portrait of life under Sharia law in Mali. The film is handsomely shot with vivid coloring. Sissako deftly handles his ensemble cast on location in his native Mauritania, which stands in for its eastern neighbor. The opening sequence, which juxtaposes a hunted impala in full flight with shots of totems being shot apart, cannily evokes a nation under siege.

Part of the power of the film is Sissako's refusal to type the fundamentalists as one dimensional villains. They are shown fully rounded whether discussing soccer, sneaking forbidden cigarettes or enforcing repressive codes of behavior. This frees Sissako to romanticize his protagonists, a lone family at the edge of town, within a realistic setting without resorting to a mythic Good/Bad dichotomy, such as in George Stevens' Shane. This makes the daily interaction of the family all the more poignant. We sense a menacing threat despite the respect the fundamentalists have for the family.

If there is a flaw that prevents Timbuktu from having the emotional impact of a masterwork, it is Sissako's clumsy handling of action. When the characters recline and converse, Sissako frames and cuts for maximum impact. When characters are on the move, during a manslaughter or the finale, the effects are marred by an unsteady hand. A soccer game without a ball seems too twee a rebellion against authority. Despite these flaws, a memorable and estimable film. (8/31/16)