Bamako

For various reasons I didn't make it through all of Bamako, but enough to form my opinion.

The main story is sold as a trial of the impact of the World Bank and the IMF in Africa. This is taking place in a courtyard, in which life is continuing, such as that of Mele and her problems... and that's about it. Neither part of the story is well served, and it all moves very slowly. The trial part isn't well formed, and the only reason I knew what was going on was because I read a movie review. And Mele's storyline isn't why I went, and then it was just in bits and pieces.

I'm not entirely sure which parts were happenstance and which were scripted, but given the good (lucky) cinematography, I have my suspicions that more were set up than were intended. It's a neat concept to have this important trial in the middle of a courtyard, but director Sissako is too often cutting away to show off the courtyard life gimmick that the main part of the movie (presuming the trial is the main part) is not well served at all.

And to continue to show I didn't get a lot of this, here's a wee 'movie' they have the residents of the courtyard watch...

(Yes, yes, Africans get cut down in the middle and not a lot is cared about them, but is that all it is?)

[END]