By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Abderrahmane Sissiko
Starring: Aissa Maiga | Balla Habib Dembélé | Maimouna Hélène Diarra
Country: france, mali, united_states
Year: 2007
Running time: 115
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814666/
Bruce says: “Occasionally a film comes along that defies one’s imagination. BAMAKO is such a film. Residents of a Mali village, disgruntled with the pauperization of their country imposed by outside forces, decide that they will stage a mock trial of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a local backyard. The World Bank and IMF are being tried for crimes of social injustice against the people of Mali. (In reality, neither institution can be tried, a fact which lends a heroic element to their effort.) One African country after another is buckling under, saddled by debt, the repayment of which perilously reduces funds available for health, education and infrastructure. Public holdings have been sold. The countries are at the mercy of giant corporations which control transportation, land rights and even water. Jobs are nonexistent. Africa is falling apart.
“Day after day impassioned speeches are made by trial witnesses. Concurrently, mundane tasks are performed and several dramas unfold – a reporter attempts to sneak in without proper credentials, an infant becomes ill, a gun is stolen, in-laws fight and a marriage unravels. In an adjacent yard fabrics are being dyed and batiked. Hung out to dry they provide a beautiful backdrop for the trial. The mistress of the house where the trial is held is a nightclub singer. By day, she is a diva sashaying about asking which ever male is closest at hand to zip up her dress or tie the laces which hold her backless dress together. One never knows for sure if a filmmaker is paying homage to earlier films, but the zipper problems definitely recall those of Claudette Colbert in PALM BEACH STORY. Then again, some film references are crystal clear. One night a TV is set up in the backyard and the villagers watch a movie, a hilarious Sergio Leone spoof entitled ‘Death in Timbuktu’ and starring BAMAKO’s producer Danny Glover and director Abderrahmane Sissiko.
“At the Q & A after the screening, producer Joslyn Barnes explained that topics like the World Bank and the IMF are simply not part of current day discourse in the United States. The US seems lost in the carnival of fear mongering. A propaganda machine has imposed the fears of terrorism and immigration on American citizens, thus obliterating all other topics that reach the news. The World Bank and IMF are means for a new ‘white collar’ colonization of black countries by white western countries. The United States is at the helm. Paul Wolfowitz, often called the architect of the War in Iraq, is the head of the World Bank. Residents of Mali seem to know that; many Americans don’t. BAMAKO is a brave and successful film. It is also very entertaining. While some of the trial scenes are pedantic, that is a miniscule complaint in light of the film’s other achievements. 5 cats”
BAMAKO was presented as part of the 2006 New York Film Festival.