#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

[dieletztepanzerhexe]

oh no

oh so it is what i think it is

idk man. i thot it's very easy for the majority of men...

young man, why?

ok...

OHHH THANK GOD he will just put a spell on her or cure her with his shamanic knowledge... oof

[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

Belly (1998) dir. Hype Williams Ever since they were kids, Sincere (Nas) and Buns (DMX) have lived life close to the edge, doing whatever it takes to survive. As adults, they build up their kingdom of crime on drug dealing and robbery. But Sincere grows weary of the criminal lifestyle and joins a black Muslim religious group. Buns, on the other hand, sinks deeper into criminality and faces serious prison time. The cops offer him a deal, however -- assassinate the head of the Muslim group, and he will go free.

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.

[moviesteve]

Yeelen https://tinyurl.com/26s6qez2 Like an Afro-futurist Arabian Nights or Homer's Odyssey, 1987's Yeelen tells in simple episodes the story of a young man on the run from his father. It's often referred to as the greatest film ever to come out of Africa (no, Black Panther ...

[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.

[spectrumtacular]

BONUS: HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Clockers (Lee, 1995)

Another banger from Spike Lee!!! VERY engaging story, filmed with that typical Spike Lee flair (signature double dolly shot you are everything to me), great performances, and a great score. Very disconcerting to see Burke Greysanatomy though, this probably would've been a Top Film instead of an Honourable Mention if he hadn't kept jumpscaring me.

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (Demarbre, 2001)

Sheer dumb fun. Jesus beating up some guy in a Habs jersey is right up there with Rankin's Diefenbaker easter egg as my top movie moment of 2024.

So This is Paris (Lubitsch, 1926)

Wildly entertaining farce and the highlight of the 2024 Toronto Silent Film Festival, I can always count on Shirley for some top tier programming. Can't see myself enjoying it quite as much on rewatch, but it made for a great theatrical experience.

Au nom du Christ (M'Bala, 1993)

I <3 religious satire, I <3 the look of sub-Saharan cinema, I <3 Mubi for leading me to gems like this one.

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (Cabanne and Emerson, 1916)

SHEER! DUMB! FUN! My third and final top movie moment of 2024 is Douglas Fairbanks' ten foot vertical leap after doing a ton of cocaine here.

Io Capitano (Garrone, 2023)

Incredible lead performance + I loooove the whole Odyssey structure of the thing + gorgeous gorgeous landscapes and dream sequences + the end made me tear up a little I won't lie. Kind of reminded me of Yeelen, which I have a real soft spot for as I wrote one of the best essays of my BA on it.

Top first-time watches of 2024 (feature film edition)! Top documentaries here.

My thoughts under the cut.

The Twentieth Century (Rankin, 2019)

A Mackenzie King biopic for people who have something wrong with them so naturally I loved it. Genuinely though it's brilliant bit of satire that cuts straight to the heart of Canada's national impotence, the way we're a nation that doesn't know how to define itself and doesn't think enough of itself to care, as embodied by our longest serving PM. Plus I looooove Rankin's visual style here; it's Caligari meets My Winnipeg meets Zero Patience, and I couldn't get enough of it. Also shoutout to the Diefenbaker easter egg, that was a personal highlight as I'm obsessed with him.

The Battle of Algiers (Pontecorvo, 1966)

....and at the reverse end of the political cinema spectrum we have The Battle of Algiers lol. This one's a triumph of neo-realism, a revolutionary call to action that grabs you by the throat and squeezes. Riveting plot, powerful themes, excellent sound design, effective use of that newsreel style, with solid performances all around, I get why this is considered one of the all-time greats -- it really is that good.

Pennies From Heaven (Ross, 1981)

If you have ever asked yourself what it would be like if Brecht made a technicolour Hollywood musical, this is the movie for you. It's a dynamite deconstruction of the genre, a really engaging exploration of musicals-as-escapism as seen through a Depression-era sheet music salesman's descent into crime etc. It's also a technical marvel; BEAUTIFULLY choreographed and shot, I think "Let's Misbehave" + "Let's Face the Music and Dance" are some of the greatest musical numbers ever put on film. My only qualms are that the sexual politics are a little iffy and that Steve Martin was maybe not the best choice for a dramatic role, but the whole lip-syncing device is cool enough to make up for it.

She's Gotta Have It (Lee, 1986)

In my Spike Lee era this year and it's entirely because of She's Gotta Have It, I think the introduction of Mars Blackmon rewired my brain chemistry. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant style, the cinematography + editing + score had my jaw on the floor from start to finish. Also has a really engaging plot with some terrific dialogue, especially in the first half. I will say that Nola's a little flat and Lee REALLY fumbled the rape scene, but otherwise I think it's a great exploration of female sexuality + the male reaction to it.

Police Story (Chan, 1985)

Some of the finest action sequences ever captured on film!! Extraordinary choreography on all the fight scenes, lots of big and inventive stunts that had me at the edge of my seat, and slapstick that was laugh-out-loud funny. Even beyond the set-pieces, Jackie Chan is such a pleasure to watch -- the moonwalk scene had me grinning ear to ear, as did the bit where he's juggling four phone calls. NEED to see more of his movies in 2025, they're just an absurdly good time.

Elevator to the Gallows (Malle, 1958)

Best noir of the year for sure. Plot is predictable, but done well enough that I was still thoroughly engaged. It helped that it was GORGEOUSLY shot; looooved the opening robbery sequence, everything in the elevator, and the interrogation room in the third act. Also, the score!!!! Miles Davis the man that you are!!!!

Brand Upon the Brain! (Maddin, 2006)

Genuinely what's going on in Winnipeg that makes every director from the city Like That™? Is it all the snow? Is the Jets? Is it the fact that the rest of the nation simply does not care about Manitoba, not even enough to make fun of them? Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining, love love LOVE seeing some Winnipeg Weird; I think Maddin's the best thing that's ever happened to Canadian cinema, and this is probably my second favourite film of his (after My Winnipeg obv); a surreal visual treat, playfully made, with an engaging Freudian nightmare plot... how do we get the rest of the nation to match this energy, I need another five million of these things STAT.

The Human Tornado (Roquemore, 1976)

The pinnacle of so-bad-it's-good cinema, a hysterically funny action spectacular from Dolemite himself, Rudy Ray Moore. Kung fu! Stand-up comedy! 70s fashion! Visible boom mics! Exploding cars! Lengthy sex hallucination sequences! Jump cuts for literally no reason! The most fun I had all year! Stream The Human Tornado on Tubi TODAY!

Friday Foster (Marks, 1975)

Another dynamite blaxploitation flick, but one that's like genuinely solid; sure, it's cheaply made and the plot's paper thin, but Pan Grier and Yaphet Kotto are so incredibly charming as a buddy-cop duo that I didn't even notice until like halfway through that the movie made no sense. Also has a great score, great costumes, great chase scenes... it's incredibly fun, just a rip-roaring good time.

[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].

[dieletztepanzerhexe]

agree to disagree

[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.