Customer Reviews

Bamako [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In a small courtyard of a house shared by several families (in Bamako, capital of Mali) a trial court has been set up where African spokesmen are taking proceedings against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This fictional setup allows the filmmaker to present a myriad of voices, addressing the human impact of the policies of these international organizations. Meanwhile, life goes on in the courtyard. Individuals who live there carry on with their efforts to make a living, most notably a talented woman who has to leave the home to sing in a nightclub in another city so that she can support her family and a husband who has lost his job and his dignity.

The film, in effect, aims to put global capitalism itself on trial and we, the audience, get to stand in as the jury. On the one hand, these organizations allow for the development of the nations they invest in: the creation of hospitals, roads, utilities, and the like. On the other hand, these development come with a steep price tag: conditions for such development include privatization of utilities, the selling off of local resources to the highest bidder, and the establishment of steep loans that have put several African countries in deep debt from which there is little possibility of emergence -- which means that their revenues must be put towards loans rather than education and even upkeep of the developments for which they paid so much. A number of perspectives and examples are given of both costs and benefits of various development projects that have taken place in Africa over the last several decades and the consensus among those attending (with some strongly opposing views presented) seems to be that the costs outweigh the benefits, and that globalization is effectively colonization under a new guise, and that it continues the process of divesting Africans of their culture and heritage and resources.

What is especially nice about the film is that the ideas are not hammered into the audiences heads; questions are raised, points are made, counterarguments are considered. Perhaps the most heavy-handed moment in the film comes at the midpoint, after the court has adjourned on the first day of proceedings. Families from the compound sit around an old television and watch a movie, a Western (starring Danny Glover, who put up some of the financing for this film), but not exactly like standard Western fare. A group of "bad guys" come into town to do bad things, a few "good guys" try to stop them, but there is a huge amount of collateral damage. The message, as it seems, is that when men with guns and armies do battle, for whatever reason -- and whatever their ideological basis such battles tend to be about privileged persons fighting over power and resources -- when men with guns and armies do battle it is the people who suffer and pay the cost of their ideological and political strivings. Whatever takes place in the bigger conversations about globalization, whatever wars are fought over African resources, ordinary people, such as those in the compound in Bamako who take no part in the trial, just want to live, to be able to feed their families, to face life with dignity, to have a voice. The most profound moment of the film comes when a man, who had been waiting patiently to address the court, finally stands before them and can't say a word. With this very intriguing and powerful film, Sissako gives voice to the concerns of those who have no voice on an international policy-making platform. This is a very important film, well worth watching.

The film narrates something important in a very original way. It is not fast but makes one reflect.

This movie was entertaining and informative. It was a peek at another culture. Anyone who is interested in the role being played by the world bank in third world countries should see Bamako and Life + debt.

The movie is not readily available at a standard price and may be out of print.

I waited for two years to order and then see this dvd. The wait was well worth it because it is such a primer to the subject that you hear about so much vis a vie Africa. Watching this mock trial on Globalization and its local impact is a lesson that we need to learn. I recommend this dvd to schools and teachers everywhere who are trying to get kids to understand the impact on the world of the World Bank, the IMF and all the other problems that we as Westerners have imposed on the Third World. This is a fascinating look at this problem and it is very well done. I Highly recommend this film.

I agree with other reviewers who had a positive response to the political aspect of this amazing film, but also, as a visual artist, I have to add that "Bamako" is VISUALLY the most beautifully framed film I have ever seen- in more than 50 years.

The Mauritian writer-director Abderrahmane Sissako brings us a powerful yet difficult to grasp with and appreciate drama following the fictional mock trial in which the World Bank and the African people are facing each other in court in an attempt to clear up Africa's record and blame the perpetrators. Of course, the two opponent forces have very different ideas and they use statistics to support their arguments in a powerful and inspiring way. Most of the action happens in a court of law which in the movie is nothing else but the backyard of a house in Bamako, the capital of Burkina Faso. The plot is full of ridiculousness as well adorned lawyers and judges (with black ropes, microphones and their rulings) are set to perform just next to noisy chicken, goats and cows.

To read the full review or get a list of recommended African movies visit:

http://codrinarsene.com/2009/05/bamako/

Abderrahmane Sissako may have known what he was doing when he made "Bamako," but the rest of us can just sit back in mystification and confusion trying our best to figure out what that purpose might have been.

The nominal "plot" involves a young African singer who's planning on leaving her unemployed husband to find work in the city. But far more of the screen time is taken up with what the publicists for the film describe as "a mock trial against key financial institutions" dealing "with the overwhelming economic hardships of Africa." That's all well and good, I suppose, but when the arguments and ideas are put forth in as undramatic and pedantic a way as they are here, they lose both force and impact. Put another way, if the director had found the means to actually incorporate issues such as the injurious effect of colonialism on the African people and the problem of African debt into anything even remotely resembling a compelling storyline, the film might have achieved the intellectual and emotional resonance it now so clearly lacks.

The topics the movie is dealing with may be relevant and important, but trying to pass off what amounts to two hours worth of speechifying as an actual, honest-to-God movie is not likely to garner much of an audience for one's message.