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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.

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Come & See

Set in Belarus in 1943, Come And See, is a film directed by Elem Kimov and could be considered a modern-day must-watch that will leave you with a reshaped view and understanding of the world. Overall the film provides perspective and encourages components of critical thinking about the past atrocities of our world, particularly WWII, and makes the viewer question the brutality and degree of hatred one must-have for their enemy to commit the violent acts presented. The film follows Florya, a young teen boy who starts out enthusiastic to join the fight against the invading Germans. He enlists with the local partisan military unit to join the resistance fighters, much to the dismay of his mother, however, is left behind during their first battle. The remainder of the film consists of his continued survival amidst the brutalities of war. The film explores various themes including those of childhood innocence, ideology, nationalism, and humanity. Throughout the film, we see Flory’s childhood innocence and optimism slowly being ripped out of him leaving behind a gaping void of nihilism. While watching the film it is made clear that no golden moment or turning point of a good deed would be done to result in a happy ending and to restore faith in humanity. Rather the filmmaker sets out to graphically show examples of the brutal atrocities committed by Germans against the Russian people during that war without holding back. A hyper-realistic quality inhabits the entire film as it seems like parts of the film have intentionally been made disorienting creating the impression of being in some sort of nightmarish fugue state. The film relies on evoking emotion by showing the emotions of characters after the acts of violence have occurred or briefly showing the result of the violence. During the film, it felt as if the actors weren’t acting anymore but rather reacting to their surroundings. The horror factor in the film does not come from jump scares or grotesque imagery but is rather supported by close-ups of the characters and the sound design. The sound design makes the viewer experience everything through 14 yr old Flyora's eyes and ears. The sounds that occur throughout the film are identifiable and realistic while others sound more alive/organic. An example of this is the foley used of the sniper bullets. Fear surrounds the scene but is then interrupted by the sounds of these bullets cutting through the air. Come and see is a war film that comprises a battle between despair and hope. The film itself isn’t designed to scare you, even though it feels like a superbly crafted horror piece, but rather to make you think.

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Tokyo Story

Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story" depicts the lives of a few ordinary days and some ordinary people but does so in a way that encapsulates the audience and makes them internalize their own lives and relationships. Ozu finds beauty and cinematic quality in the ordinary and mundane aspects of everyday life and through this makes the film universally relatable. 

The story revolves around an elderly couple who journey from their small town to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Their children are preoccupied with their lives and make little time for their parents treating their visit more like an obligation and a costly imposition of their time than a want. It quickly becomes apparent that they are far more interested in their concerns than they are in meeting the burden of pretending to be interested in their elderly. The only offspring who makes a concerted effort on this trip is their widowed daughter-in-law. The narrative revolves around the everyday activities of these characters and their relationships with each other. 

Tokyo Story is a distinctly Japanese film with the dominant theme being the generational conflict between parents and their children. The film depicts the sad inevitability that children develop a degree of selfishness to become independent from their parents. The viewer is able to relate to this to their extent. The film leaves the audience questioning their own relationship with their parents and their views on death, relationships, and change. With Ozu, it's as if the characters are living their lives unaware that a movie is being shot. The Viewer has a fly-on-the-wall perspective and feels as if they are part of the character's everyday lives, this is supported by the camera placement. In the film, the camera is used as an impassive, honest observer and is mostly static. The camera does not move except on very rare occasions, such as the slow, steady, and tracking shot in Tokyo Story- that goes along a fence to reveal the parents waiting outside for Noriko to come home. 

Ozu places special attention on his character placement as the Actors are often locked in the center frame with the camera right between two people conversing, filming each person directly. This makes the audience feel that they are standing in the middle of the conversation and are being addressed directly by the characters along with his low-placed camera technique, the tatami shot, which is central to the Japanese-style down approach to filmmaking. 

Tokyo Story is generally regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. The film's simplicity to capture day-to-day activities in such a way that the viewer compares it to their own life is truly what makes the critics and filmmakers speak about it in complete awe and admiration.