Timbuktu

• The Mauritanian film Timbuktu is a wonderful, wonderful movie! Sincere thanks to the Mauritanian director, the jewel of Chinguetti, Abderrahmane Sissako. I personally stand in respect and support for him for the immense effort and faith that the film would be shown internationally. He proved to the world that beloved Mauritania can dazzle the world and compete on the global cinema stage as well.

• Nothing remains then for the new generations but to flee like gazelles before beasts thirsting for infidel blood, or, as offered to us in a sequence of immense strength and elegance, to continue playing a forbidden match. Even if there is no ball.

• The cinematography of Sofiane El Fani, best known for his work with Abdellatif Kechiche, captures this exotic environment with a luminosity that at times borders on saturation, accentuating the glassy shimmer of light refracted through hot air in truly magical shots. An admirable example is a sustained wide shot of the river where Kidane confronts a fisherman, literally placing beauty in the midst of violence, an oasis amid bloodshed.

• I loved the scene compositions and the way they complimented the narrative and meaning of the story. The film is kept simplistic with the set designs and costumes, but that's not a bad thing at all. It also uses displays of violence sparingly, which makes the scenes more impactful.

• Timbuktu is a breathlessly simple statement on Islamic fundamentalism and furthermore reveals the hypocrises and truths of human civilisation. Here extremism is presented in practice and at face value. Pretentious statements and philosophical musings are nowhere to be found. Instead we just get a selection of stories across one small town. It depicts a calm and peaceful life under oppression.

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