#yeelen film

[heifercatmoon]

Some of the most memorable scenes from the 1987 Malian film Yeelen by Souleymane Cissé.

Yeelen means "brightness/light" in Bambara.

Set in the 13th century, the film tells the legend of Niankoro, the son of the sorceror Soma, and ultimately their fateful confrontation.

Soma, upon seeing a vision in which his son will be the death of him, deigns to slay his son. Niankoro leaves his mother and receives a prophecy from a hyena-man, then embarks on a mystical quest to defeat his father, who is tracking him via Kore magic post through Bambara, Fula and Dogon lands.

After impressing a Fula king with his magic, and helping his men win a war against some rivals, Niankoro receives his wife Attou (after "curing" "her" infertility and the 2 laying together).

The young couple journeys across the arid sun-scorched landscape into the peaceful escarpment where Niankoro's uncle dwells. The junior shaman receives his magic Kore's Wing (wooden sorceror's implement) from his uncle (Soma's benevolent twin), to evade capture, track his father, and ensure the fulfillment of the noble prophecy of he and Attou's descendents.

[holymami]

Malian filmaker Souleymane Cissé’s film 'Yeelen,' 1987

[itswadestore]

Nianankoro from Souleymane Cissé’s film Yeelen, 1987.

[balladofscorpio]

Can’t look at anything or anyone the same anymore. I see nice cars and people with the latest brands/eating McDonald’s etc/having the latest iPhones and I just think about how many kids died mining for these metals to support that structure of our world. That’s also killing the earth. And they’re technically my brothers and sisters and cousins. I think about what kind of human you have to be to enjoy luxuries that are conceptualized in blood and murder and not boycott the minimum/speak up. I feel like I can’t trust anyone. But I fight and still hope for the future for me and my people. I am thankful for films like Neptune Frost, Yeelen, Gabbeh, and other indigenous films that capture the indestructible beautiful hearts of our people and their lights we must carry on against the darkness.

[blackfilmshowdown]

New Film Submissions

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Shottas (2002) dir. Cess Silvera Deported from the United States, two drug dealers (Ky-Mani Marley, Spragga Benz) travel to Miami and continue their violent ways

Soul Food (1997) dir. George Tillman Jr. When Ahmad Simmons' (Brandon Hammond) diabetic grandmother, Josephine "Big Mama" Joseph (Irma P. Hall), falls into a coma during an operation to amputate her leg, it throws the Joseph family into chaos. Ahmad watches as his mother, Maxine (Vivica A. Fox), and aunts Teri (Vanessa L. Williams) and Tracy (Nia Long) struggle to adjust to the family matriarch's sudden absence, fall into old rivalries, share memories, and work to maintain the long-standing tradition of Sunday family dinners.

Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998) dir. Michel Ocelot The tiny Kirikou is born into an African village upon which a sorceress called Karaba has cast a terrible spell: the spring has dried up, the villagers are being blackmailed, the men of the village have either been kidnapped or have mysteriously disappeared. He wants to rid the village of the curse so he goes on a voyage to the Forbidden Mountain, where the Wise Man of the Mountain, who knows of Karaba and her secrets, awaits him.

Bebe's Kids (1992) dir. Bruce W. Smith In this animated depiction of a calamitous first date, Robin Harris (Faizon Love) hits it off with the gorgeous Jamika (Vanessa Bell Calloway), whom he meets at her boss' funeral. On the ride back, Harris is introduced to her well-behaved son (Wayne Collins), and asked if he wants to go with them to the amusement park the next day. Harris accepts and arrives to find three more children joining them. Jamika is watching her friend Bebe's kids -- which is the beginning of Harris' problems.

Yeelen (1987) dir. Souleymane Cissé

In the 13th century, Niankoro (Issiaka Kane) is born to the shaman Soma (Niamanto Sanogo), who fears his offspring's magical powers. Niankoro flees with his mother (Soumba Traore) and masters his skills while staying ahead of his father's attempts to track him down. Setting off on a journey to ask his uncle, Djigui Diarra (Ismaila Sarr), for advice, Niankoro uses his abilities to help tribal king Rouma Boll (Balla Moussa Keita) defeat a neighboring tribe, thereby earning the king's friendship.

[lboogie1906]

Souleymane Cissé (born April 21, 1940) is a Malian film director.

His film career began as an assistant projectionist for a documentary on the arrest of Patrice Lumumba. This triggered his desire to create films of his own, and he obtained a scholarship to the Moscow School of Cinema and Television.

He returned to Mali and joined the Ministry of Information as a cameraman, where he produced documentaries and short films. He produced his first medium-length film, Cinq jours d’une vie, which tells the story of a young man who drops out of a Qur’anic school and becomes a petty thief living on the street. Cinq Jours premiered at the Carthage Film Festival.

He produced his first full-length film in the Bambara language, Den Muso, the story of a young mute girl who has been raped. The girl becomes pregnant and is rejected both by her family and by the child’s father. Den Muso was banned by the Malian Minister of Culture, and he was arrested and jailed for having accepted French funding.

He produced Baara, which received the Yenenga’s Talon prize at Fespaco. He produced Finyé, which tells the story of dissatisfied Malian youth rising against the establishment. This earned him his second Yenenga’s Talon at Fespaco.

He produced Yeelen, a coming-of-age film that won the Jury Prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.

He produced Waati which competed for the Palme d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

He is president of the Union of Creators and Entrepreneurs of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Western Africa. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[le-fils-de-lhomme]

Yeelen is now my favorite film because I love magical conflict being portrayed on film.

[allyear-lff]

The storms of Jeremy Thomas

Jeremy Thomas? Who is him?

Well, he got his Oscar for producing "The Last Emperor", that is who he is, other films for which he was the driving force: Bad Timing, Crash, Fast Food Nation, The Hit, The sheltering sky, 13 Assassins, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, Only lovers left alive, Eureka, Yeelen, The Dreamers, First Love, Kon-Tiki, Bad Timing, A dangerous method, Sexy Beast, it is fair to say he can be very happy with his career having had at least one relevant film every decade since he has been active and many more that are well regarded by critics and the public.

So the film follows him on his pilgrimage to Cannes to promote a Japanese film he produced, he is a petrolhead so he drives there from the UK and the single man band of a documentary maker latches to him as far and as long as he can, which at the end includes part of Thomas' engagements in Cannes until he can't follow him any longer (we watch the new film presentation as any other nobody Joe in the theatre).

Thomas is received like royalty, he is clearly well known, but he is very self deprecating, moving around Cannes by bicycle, dressed like any other old man.

The film is structured around 6 chapters dealing with Cars, Sex, Politics, Death, Cannes and Endings, they give us a good picture of Thomas and explores interesting ideas about what drives him, for example it is interesting to know he was behind films as dissimilar as The Last Emperor, Crash or Fast Food Nation, although a good picture of the man is presented I think the portrayal was superficial and, perhaps inevitably, incomplete.

The storms of the tile refer to storms of ideas, it is mentioned in passing during the film and given the eclectic nature of the films in which Mr Thomas has been involved, the title seems justified.

I don't know, some ultra niche films are really fetching, this one wasn't particularly enticing to me, if you are a fan of any of the films mentioned you may find interesting to look into the man behind the feat.

Rating: 3/5

Date: 25 October 2022

Venue: Sky Cinema streaming.

The list of films in the LFF 2021.

[interzonedigi]

Nick Lowe on Yeelen &c. in classic Mutant Popcorn film essays // https://interzone.digital/?s=mutant+popcorn

[byneddiedingo]

Issiaka Kane in Yeelen (Souleymane Cissé, 1987) Cast: Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo, Balla Moussa Keita, Soumba Traore, Ismaila Sarr, Youssouf Tenin Cissé, Koke Sangare. Screenplay: Souleymane Cissé. Cinematography: Jean-Noël Ferragut, Jean-Michel Humeau. Production design: Kossa Mody Keita. Film editing: Dounama Coulibaly, Andrée Davanture, Jenny Frenck, Nathalie Goepfert, Seipati Keita, Marie-Catherine Miqueau, Seipati N'Xumalo. Music: Salif Keita, Michel Portal. A fascinating but at times hard to follow fable set in the legendary past of Mali, Yeelen tells of a generational conflict focused on the somewhat Oedipal relationship of father and son. Niankora (Issiaka Kane) clashes with his father, Soma (Niamanto Sanogo), over the father's use of magic to enrich himself. When Soma dreams that his son will kill him, Niankora is forced to flee, aided by his mother (Soumba Traore), stealing some of the father's magic totems. The film traces Niankora's odyssey as he's pursued by his father, leading to a final showdown. Some remarkable images add to the universality of the story. 

[blackfilm]

Yeelen (Part 1) 

maheauxgany asked where to see the film from the post of stills from the film.  above is part 1 (with English subtitles). clicking on the video will lead you to the DailyMotion page where you will see part 2. 

[natehoodreviews]

The story is universal: a brave son must defeat his wicked father to save the world. The setting, if not Pan-African, is at the least Pan-Malian: a sprawling journey through Sudan and savanna, stagnant wetlands and sandstone cliff-sides. The time is eternal: an era before colonization, when each people had their land and the land their spirits. In this story, in this place, in this time Souleymane Cissé weaves his film Yeelen, a tale that is all tales in its scope, tragedy, and triumph. When first released in 1987, it heralded a breakthrough for African cinema, winning a Jury Prize at Cannes and becoming one of the first African films ever distributed on video. Though Cissé was trained in the Soviet Union and cut his teeth with documentaries, the film is a defiant rejection of many American and European cinematic modes, electing instead for a broader stylistic esotericism rooted in formalized rituals and ceremonies. Scenes and sequences move less like traditional narrative beats—though the story is linear, uncluttered, and straightforward—instead favoring the meticulous unhurriedness of a priest preparing for vespers or a surgeon for surgery. Scenes of eating and bathing, crafting and praying make up as much of the run-time as the film’s many battles, visions, and scenes of sorcery. In Yeelen we see another reinvention of cinema as an African art form, a continuation of the legacy of Ousmane Sembène and Idrissa Ouédraogo.

To read the rest of this review, click on the link!

Published on Mubi.com

[themusinggirlsa]

Black Magic or African Magic? ​

Name of Film: Yeelen

Director: Souleymane Cissé

Origin and Release Year:  Mali (1987)

Starring or score: 7/10

Genre: Drama

 Yeleen is a film that mixes Africanism with magic. A look inside a Malian village, directed by Souleymane Cissé and released in 1987, that awakens and connects the heritage of the modern African viewer. It is the story of a young Bambara man searching for spiritual insight. Brightness being the meaning of ‘yeleen’ becomes a metaphor for this revelation. Cissé does not shy away from using purely African elements and maintains tradition and realism to portray a subject matter, that might be otherwise seen as unrealistic. It makes one wonder if maintaining reality can still portray magic?

 The film follows a native name Niankoro, played by Issiaka Kane, who leaves on a quest for knowledge. He learns lessons about himself and his magical powers. He encounters his long-lost father, also a sorcerer, whom he battles with. Along his journey, he also runs into trouble with a king who asks him for a favour. The favour is to help his ‘barren’ wife get pregnant. Niankoro then tells the king that his penis betrayed him, after sleeping with his wife. The king then gives his wife to Niankoro, she realizes she is pregnant and they continue the journey together.

 The film focuses on a balance between religion, tradition and magic. Although, black magic is established in this African community’s culture, it is emphasized with a Western feel through stylistic choices. Inherently African themes dominate scenes such as maternal power, patriarchy and religious beliefs. These themes met with realist stylistic choices, create a sense of nostalgia to the modern African child. Even if one has never experienced that depth of culture personally.

 The film uses plays with light and reflection to portray the simplicities of magic. As well as, conventions such as reverse speed and quick cutting to duplicate transformation. It takes simplicity and adds slightly out-of-place elements to make one feel that something is off but right.

 I’d recommend the modern African child to watch this film, purely for its subtle linking of Africanism to the modern concept of magic. It is also a shining example of realism in film, as opposed to all the explosive CGI we encounter in cinemas these days. Yeelen truly makes simplicity magical.

 References

Gonzalez, E., Lee, K., Lund, C., Camp, A. and Camp, A. (2018). Yeelen | Film Review | Slant Magazine. [online] Slant Magazine. Available at: https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/yeelen [Accessed 20 Mar. 2018].

[annoyingthemesong]

SUBLIME CINEMA #302 - YEELEN

Souleymane Cisse is one of the greatest African filmmakers, certainly among the most renowned outside the continent, and he made several masterpieces including this mystical ode to Mali, Yeelen (which means ‘light’). The World Cinema Project took on the task to restore this film, so there are some beautiful transfers of it out there. I was really taken by it’s mysterious qualities as well as the evocative photography of Malian landscapes, and there is a poetry to the language - Fula and Bambara dialects which were totally alien to me, but came across as so beautiful. 

[screenscholars]

Yeelen

Yeelen directed by Souleymane Cissé is distinctively African that uses one of the most western cultural forms, film, to speak and present its non-western mind. Yeelen has guaranteed a place for the medium of film in the folklife of Africa. The film allows the audience to make new interpretations of African cinema and question or challenge their expectations and preconceptions regarding African cinema.

Yeelen is about a young man, Nianankoro, who sets on a journey across Mali to fulfill his destiny and challenge his tyrannical father Soma who fears his offspring’s magical powers. Niankoro flees with his mother and attempts to stay ahead while his father tries to track him down. Setting off on a journey to ask his uncle for advice his power matures with the help of the Peul and Dogon peoples, and after acquiring the sacred Wing of Kore, he engages in an epic battle with his father for the fate of the entire country. The film can be interpreted as the appropriation of the history and myth of Mali. Although the film is set in an unspecified time, it is widely believed that the film is based on the legend of Sundiata Keita, the thirteenth-century founder of the Malian empire who used magic to defeat an oppressive ruler.

The film walks a fine line between cultural specificity and universal appeal and can be regarded as an anthropological film. Yeelen immerses the viewer in a worldview that can only be fully comprehended through extensive study. The mere complexity of the rituals of sorcery, which include spitting, powerful wooden boards and amulets, symbolic human and animal figures, and distinctive patterns of speech and mimicry, invites audiences to linger over the foreignness and inherent beauty of Bambara culture. Every film reflects a distinctive cultural orientation that may make it difficult for many spectators to access or understand as subtle politics and experimental indigeneity cannot be grasped without also grappling with the politics of mainstream Africa. The film has a very deliberate and distinctive pace which is achieved through long takes, minimal editing, and shots that highlight the mise en scène and natural elements.

Furthermore, the film also contains thematic repetition of imagery that allows the visuals to operate symbolically. An example of this is when Attou takes her turn bathing in the purifying springs of the Dogon territory, we may recall the visual effect of a prior scene of ritual purification, as Nianankoro’s mother prays for her son’s protection. Another cinematic effect that could be considered is the blinding light. It plays an important role in the film, particularly in the climactic confrontation between Nianankoro and Soma. Cissé considers this endless cycle of the consolidation, destruction, and recreation of knowledge by each generation Yeelen’s most ‘universal aspect.

Yeelen has taken the art of film and reshaped it according to what they know. Its voice is not distant not objective it is simply telling a story that is true to their world.