About a year and a half ago, while living in sleepy Hightstown, NJ, I was writing film reviews for a soon-to-be-launched website on new African media. The website never materialized, but I received four films in total, each of which I watched and then wrote about in 500-word reviews. Ousmane Sembene's Moolaade was by far the most memorable one for me, especially because the great filmmaker had died early that year in 2007. Here is the long-languishing review:
Powerful and vibrant, Ousmane Sembene’s Moolaadé brings unwavering focus to female circumcision, one of the many plights of women in Africa. Filmed in Senegal, Moolaadé reveals the harsh realties of familial conflict, as village elders are challenged repeatedly, a young man refuses to wed the eleven-year-old bride picked for him, girls drown themselves in protest, and the defiant Collé (Fatoumata Coulibaly) takes a public flogging for her stand against female circumcision. In his final, beautifully filmed masterpiece, Sembene does not fail us as usual, offering steady but moving images of daily life and ritual in a Senegalese village, and wide-ranging emotions portrayed by an impressive cast of African actors; and finally, a sobering but hopeful glimpse at the challenges ahead for African women everywhere. Moolaadé is not for the faint of heart, yet it unfolds brilliantly, responding with a clear, defiant answer to those who continue to insist on female circumcision in Africa.
