Yeelen (1987)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Souleymane Cissé

Writer:

Souleymane Cissé (writer)

Release Date:

8 November 1991 (Finland)

Genre:

Fantasy

Plot:

A young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father. |

Plot Keywords:

Sorcerer | Magic | Black Magic | Animal Sacrifice | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Issiaka Kane	...	Niankoro, le fils
Aoua Sangare	...	Attou, la jeune femme Peul
Niamanto Sanogo	...	Soma le pere / Djigui the twin
Balla Moussa Keita	...	Rouma Boll, le roi Peul
Soumba Traore	...	Mah, la mere
Ismaila Sarr	...	Bofing, l'oncle
Youssouf Tenin Cissé	...	Le petit garcon d'Attou
Koke Sangare	...	Le chef de Komo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Youssouf Coulibaly
Manzon Coumare
Souleymane Coumare
Sidi Diallo
Nadje Doumbla
Zan Doumbla
Bremira Dumbla
Tienon Fone
Sibiri Kone
Sekou Konote
Seyba M'Baye
Toumani Soumaoro
Djemori Traoré
Dounanke Traoré

Also Known As:

Brightness (Canada: English title) (informal title) (USA)
Das Licht (West Germany)
La lumière (France)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Mali | Burkina Faso | France | West Germany

Language:

French | Bambara

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Dilly, Mali

Company:

Atriascop Paris

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Visually stunning, "Yeelen" is the most mystical and the most beautiful of African films…

Its director, Souleymane Cissé, from Mali in West Africa, has expressed his desire to make films which are uniquely African in style rather than imitating those of the United Sates or Europe… To this end he relies on stories, true and mythical, told by old men and handed down through the generations…

A young warrior (Issiaka Kane), threatened with death by his evil sorcerer father (Niamanto Sanogo), goes on a journey where he learns the power of magic… The film inhabits a world of dreams, but not the kind described by Dr Freud…

However, the movie's basis in a mystical tradition does not render it inaccessible to Western audiences… The structure of the narrative, based on a quest for magical knowledge and power, is clear and firm, and the consistent pattern of imagery based on the elements of fire, water, earth and light (the title translates as 'brightness') is not specific to African culture… The film's use of landscape, yellow spaces of the desert, is one of its chief glories… The performers too have great charm…