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| TIMBUKTU 2014 |
TIMBUTKTU
Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako
2014
Ms. Hen found it difficult to situate herself in this film
at first. She read the description incorrectly and thought it was
about Malaysia and not Mali. After she watched the whole thing, she went to the
internet, and found out that Mali is not Malaysia. She felt like a silly hen
for not realizing where it took place, but this film is anything but silly.
TIMBUKTU takes place in Mali during the revolution in 2012.
The story revolves around a farming family in which the father, Kidane, dotes
on his beautiful twelve- year old daughter, Toya. They have a simple life with
their herd of cows, but they don’t know that tragedy is about to come their
way.
The Muslim extremists are taking over the country,
announcing throughout the village that it is a violation for women to be
without socks. They stop women on the street to see if they are wearing socks;
and if a woman is not, she gets taken into custody. The tyrants tell a woman
who is selling fish that she has to wear gloves, but she fights with them, and
tells them she cannot sell her fish wearing gloves, and if they want to make
her, they should cut off her hands.
The men in the government are after anyone who sings in
private, or anyone who plays soccer. One of the most beautiful moments of the
film is when the woman who is arrested for singing is receiving forty
lashes, and starts to sing and wail from the depths of her soul. Many cinematic
flourishes decorate this film. If it is possible for film to be considered
poetry, this could be the one to accomplish such a feat.
The mis en scene takes one’s breath away. We see a miserable
place in the desert where the society is disintegrating, but the beauty of the
landscape and the people almost make us forget the devastation that is
happening. Ms. Hen decided that watching TIMBUTKU makes her happy that she
lives where she lives and she doesn’t have to worry about the authorities
telling her she has to wear socks, and she has the option of dancing if she
desires. Where Ms. Hen lives is not perfect, but she believes that it is as safe as it can be.
The family of farmers is not safe from the extremists. A
fisherman warned the son Issan about letting the cow near his fishing nets, but Issan had no control over the cow. The fisherman kills the cow, and Issan runs back to tell the family. Kidane, irate, takes matters into his own hands,
and goes to the fisherman with the intent to hurt him.
What ensues is chaos. Ms. Hen didn’t know what happened for
a few seconds, but that is the beauty of this film. The viewer doesn’t alway know
what is happening immediately, but has to read between the images.
Ms. Hen’s favorite part of the film was the woman from Haiti
with the magical chicken. The chicken appears with the woman dressed in blue,
and the woman talks to the chicken and the chicken appears to be the one who is all-knowing. Ms. Hen always loves when a chicken appears in a
film, because she likes to know her kind is being appreciated.
Ms. Hen loved this film, even though it brought her down.
The poetry of pain expressed in film always heartens Ms. Hen. If beautiful art comes from something horrible, the struggle might not be in vain. And
to let the world know that horrors exist brings light to the struggle we
all share. We all are on this planet together and if injustice occurs to
someone, it hurts everyone. Ms. Hen gives this film five feathers up.
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