'BAMAKO' PUTS HUMAN FACE ON AFRICA'S PLIGHT.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic A courtroom drama unlike any other, Abderrahmane Sissako's "Bamako" follows a mock trial A simulated trial-level proceeding conducted by students to understand trial rules and processes. Usually tried before a mock jury, these proceedings are different from Moot Court proceedings, which simulate appellate arguments. that pits the interests of the African continent against those of the World Bank. The proceedings take place in a courtyard of a rundown Rundown A summary of the amount and prices of a serial bond issue that is still available for purchase. rundown A list of available bonds in a municipal issue of serial bonds. Mali home where insects swarm around the robed judges, turning the event into a spectacle that would be ludicrous if the issues weren't so serious. Sissako tries -- and, for the most part, succeeds -- in pulling off the impossible. He wants to impart a lot of dense information, facts and statistics contained in some pretty long and windy speeches, and he wants to entertain, too. So "Bamako" also contains a bracketing story about a sexy lounge singer (Aissa Maiga), a stolen gun and a mysterious murder. There's also a movie within the movie, an allegorical al·le·gor·i·cal also al·le·gor·ic adj. Of, characteristic of, or containing allegory: an allegorical painting of Victory leading an army. spaghetti Western spaghetti Western n. A low-budget Western film made by a European, especially an Italian, film company. spaghetti western Noun a cowboy film made in Europe by an Italian director Noun 1. called "Death in Timbuktu," featuring Danny Glover (one of the film's producers) and others letting the lead fly. Such absurd moments might seem out of place. But when nearly half of an African nation's revenues go toward paying down debt, leaving precious little for schools, health care and basic services basic services, n.pl frequently insurance companies split dental procedures into basic and major categories. Basic services usually consist of diagnostic, preventive, and routine restorative dental services. , maybe we need to find a new definition of preposterous. "This is what it's come to, what we've learned from the system -- pay or die," says Aminata Traore, a writer and one-time minister of Malian culture. "That's the West's lesson that we inflict upon ourselves." "Bamako" is challenging without a doubt, but Sissako's righteous right·eous adj. 1. Morally upright; without guilt or sin: a righteous parishioner. 2. In accordance with virtue or morality: a righteous judgment. 3. anger never loses its ability to connect to the heart, even in the film's densest thickets of symbolism. Hollywood has tried to get at Africa's plight, but Sissako does it from the inside out, putting a human face on the continent's grave inequities. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com BAMAKO - Three stars (Unrated: adult themes, violence.) Starring: Aissa Maiga. Director: Abderrahmane Sissako. Running time: 1 hr. 58 mins. Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles
In a nutshell nut·shell n. The shell enclosing the meat of a nut. Idiom: in a nutshell In a few words; concisely: Just give me the facts in a nutshell. Adv. 1. : Mock trial pits Africa against the World Bank. The results aren't surprising but the movie's humanity might take you off guard. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Director Abderrahmane Sissako addresses Africa's issues in two stories in his new film, "Bamako." |
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