Film review 3

 

Yeelen (1987), the story about the betrayal of one man’s penis

This review will be looking at Souleymane Cisse’s Yeelen, a film that as Okri said: “It is the kind of film you see once and it inscribes itself on you” (BFI 2018), and argue why it is a memorable film. The evaluation criteria used will be Bordwell, Thompson and Smith’s (2017:61): Coherence, intensity of effect, complexity and originality.

The plot:

Nianankoro, a member of the Bambara empire tries to escape his father, Soma, a member of the Bambara secret society, who wants to kill him (AfricanFilm NY).

Coherence

The narrative is straight forward with some minor issues that might leave a western viewer confused, as the film doesn’t explain the use of magic. But as the film proceeds the viewer can piece some things together. The editing is clean, except for one instance where a shot is darker than the rest. The narrative is relatively easy to follow, but does feel rushed and also some parts aren’t shown, but just mentioned, such as the introduction to new enemies that are never seen again, but instead is mentioned through dialogue that they were defeated.

Intensity of effect

It’s easy to see why the title means brightness and uses this to its advantage to help the viewer observe and experience the world from an African point of view, through expressing that the Sun’s light “has come to represent life, death, rebirth, along with both good and evil” (123HelpMe). The film as mentioned above does gloss over a few of the important beats, like the “love story” that inspired this review’s title, making it harder to connect and root for the characters, as well as justify the way they entered the relationship.

Complexity

On the service, Yeelen seems straight forward, with the exceptions of the use of cultural practices “foreign” to a western audience. But there is a deep layer that may resonate with African viewers that could recognise some political commentary: “Subtly but clearly, Yeelen demands a return to the traditional ideals of beneficent governance. Cisse hopes that his film will arouse conscience of his audience to cleanse the government of corruption and restore ethical integrity of the ancestral Mali commonwealth” (MacRea 1995:58)

Originality   

Yeelen is: “visually stunning as anything from Hollywood” (Chaffee 2022). But where it differs is that it “is so true to its own vision that at times it seems impenetrable to anyone else's” (James 1989). By not showing its subject matter as strange and weird traditions that is being patronized (Hagopian), but instead Cisse presents the subject matter as he “imagines it was lived and demands that we confront it” (James 1987).

Conclusion:

Yeelen has a lot of memorable moments, but it does, as James (1987) points out, feel flat. The characters are hard to connect to with the film’s pacing and the climax (exciting as it is) didn’t feel like it was built up enough and the introduction of new threats and then never seeing them again can feel disappointing and jarring. But the film is brilliantly shot and a great introduction to African cinema.


List of sources

123HelpMe. Power and Perception of Africa in the film Yeelen. https://www.123helpme.com/essay/Power-and-Perception-of-Africa-in-the-22420 (Accessed on 29 March 2022).

AfricanFilm NY. Yeelen/Brightness. https://africanfilmny.org/films/yeelen-brightness/ (Accessed on 29 March 2022).

BFI. 2018. In conversation with… Ben Okri on Yeelen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gm0bGk5yEA (Accessed on 29 March 2022).

Bordwell, D, Thompson, K & Smith, J. 2017. Film Art: An Introduction. 11th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Chaffee, S. 2022. Yeelen. https://thefridacinema.org/yeelen/ (Accessed on 2 April 2022).

Cisse, S (dir.). 1987. Yeelen. Kino Video Origin. 

Hagopian, K. Yeelen. https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/filmnotes/fns05n4.html (Accessed on 2 April 2022).

James, C. 1987. Film Festival; ‘Yeelen,’ Based on Myths From Mali. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/08/movies/film-festival-yeelen-based-on-myths-from-mali.html (Accessed on 2 April 2022).’

MacRae, S. 1995. "Yeelen": A Political Fable of the "Komo" Blacksmith/Sorcerers. Indiana University Press 26, Autumn: 57-66.


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