Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

unbiased_movie_critic To me the visual of the film is extremely insipid, savorless, amazingly dull and plainly disappointing! And in that area, someone will have to explain to me how cinematographer Sofian El Fani, who once again reveals himself as an amateur, actually did get a credit for this movie. Very rarely do we see technical challenges. The movie's visualization is so technically repetitive and mind-numbing that it makes the whole movie extremely boring (how many viewers did say they were checking their watch!). Timbuktu's stunning sandy deserts, lakes and caved houses, which should have been splendidly rendered, are regrettably reduced to being consistently filmed with the same elementary shots over and over. It could have been merely OK for a documentary (which the movie was supposed to be BTW). What makes the filming approach so tedious is that Sofian El Fani fails to convey emotions through camera angles (kind of reminded me of La vie d'Adèle where El Fani makes such an excessive use of close-ups that it becomes unbearably repetitive to the viewer).So unless there was a political move to credit Tunisian film crew members, such as El Fani, (Original Score award to Amine Bouhafa was well deserved though), there is no technical basis whatsoever for him receiving this award for best cinematography. Globally, this film probably moved Western World viewers -- that's why it actually got credited--, but it no manner does it contribute to cinema or art.

miriamday-35605 From the nebulous Al Qaeda to the rampaging mobs who call themselves Daesh, Islamist fighters are portrayed in our media as an almost metaphysical threat: barbaric, 'medieval', an enemy that defies comprehension, they are the personification of the Terror that 'we', the civilized, are told we must fight. The beautiful and troubling film 'Timbuktu', set during the Islamist take-over of Northern Mali, reframes this story.From the opening scenes, when the local Imam orders the Jihadists out of the mosque, it is clear these men have neither spiritual nor moral authority. The rules they impose on the local Muslim population are both absurd and vicious. Music, football, sitting in the street and smoking are forbidden. The women are forced to wear gloves much as the Jews of Spain were required to wear yellow stars by the Inquisition – or as Muslim women in France are forbidden from wearing the veil today. The film demonstrates how these arbitrary edicts have nothing to do with faith and are designed solely to assert social control.One of the most beautiful sequences shows the boys of the town playing soccer with an imaginary ball in an act of joyous, collective defiance. Yet, even as they ban the sport, the most animated conversation the Jihadists have is about football, and the local youths who have joined them have presumably done so for money or prestige rather than out of conviction. In a key scene where the protagonist recognises one of the local Jihadists, the man, clearly ashamed, claims to have come from Libya. These Islamic fighters, then, have more in common with gangland bullies, Nazi thugs or the youths of the Red Guard who terrorised China during the Cultural Revolution than they do with the ancient, scimitar-wielding foe of Christian imagination – a spectre from the 'crusades' that has been diligently resuscitated in both religious camps for strictly political ends.In 'Timbuktu', as in real life, it is the local Muslims – the women in particular – who suffer at the Jihadists' hands. Yet it is clear, too, that this tyranny – like all others – will be temporary. The abiding impression of these self-styled religious warriors is of a group of deeply inadequate men – men whose own impotence and longing drives them to assert illusory dominion over a natural, female and human world of irrepressible variety and beauty

svikasha In the opening scene of "Timbuktu", a jeep carrying armed men is seen chasing a gazelle across the pristine dessert. This scene is followed by another scene showing militants of the so-called Islamic State shooting at intricate masks and dolls that are undoubtedly cultural icons from the region. "Timbuktu" is a remarkable film for a number of reasons. The timing of the film was so necessary because in the same year that the film came out a self-proclaimed caliphate swept up large swaths of territory across the Muslim world extending its cruel grip even to Africa. The beautiful scenes of the dessert around Timbuktu are accompanied by a masterfully selected soundtrack of tunes from the region. The music is relentless and melancholic, just like the dessert. Both stand as immobile presences throughout the film. In one odd scene, a group of men are arguing Messi and soccer. The audience is purposefully misled into thinking the discussion was about a serious war or series of battles. But the truth is, most boys would rather fight about soccer than something as obscure as religion. Another poetic scene happens during the film when a man is sentenced to 20 lashes for knowing that football is forbidden and still choosing to play. In the next scene, a group of young boys are all playing football, without a ball. The ball is forbidden. The boys in the colorful shirts and shorts end up running around an empty field kicking sand at each other. How can you forbid children from playing? The boys cheer an imaginary goal before they feel the need to stop and hide their activities from a motorcycle patrol. In another instance, a group of fighters are sent to find where music is coming from. When they realize the music is religious in nature and praises Allah and Muhammad they question the need to stop it. More people start to play music as a form of protest. A clearly non- silent protest that can be visibly heard by ISIS patrols in the city at night. A woman sings, "This is my land and this is my Timbuktu. It's children are mourning and suffering. It's the land of love and warmth and dignity. So tell me, why are the children crying? Because of the injustice, violence, and fear of the future. Stop crying, my Timbuktu will always be here. Everything will go fast. You've got little time left". Later in the film, the woman who's beautiful voice carries across the Timbuktu dessert is sentenced to 40 lashes for singing. Another 40 lashes are sentenced for meeting with men in private without her parent's permission. As she kneels and begins to be whipped she continues to sing. It is a poetic protest in response to the so-called Islamic States' cruel and unjust punishment system. An Imam questions the so-called Islamic State's cruelty towards women by scolding, "Remember the words of Allah Almighty. Forgive them. Involve them in decisions. Talk with them. Once you have decided, I put your trust in Allah. Because he loves those who trust him. Where is the mercy? Where is the forgiveness? Where is the piety? Where is the change, the change? Where is god in all this?".The greatest aspect of Timbuktu is the fact that the film doesn't glorify war or violence in the fashion that Hollywood so regularly chooses to. In fact the main struggle of the film is quite simple. Nearby Timbuktu, a territorial fight brews between a fisherman and a cowherd. This struggle is less of an ideological struggle and more of a struggle for survival. A boy loses track of the cowherd's youngest cow which strays into the fisherman's nets. The fisherman kills the cow and in a poignant scene the cow can be heard breathing long after it appears to be dead. The dramatic effect is undeniable. Like Africa, the injured calf will continue to fight for life long after it was left for dead. The cowherd confronts the fisherman and in the ensuing fight a gunshot abruptly interrupts the scene and both characters are seen floating in the water. One of them gets up. The other doesn't. The calm tranquility of the setting stands in contrast to the dark nature of the political situation. The so-called Islamic State confiscated all of the cowherd's cows and property for his alleged murder of the fisherman. The cowherd shows no regret or fear in response to being sentenced to death by the fake caliphate. Before accepting his fate, the cowherd asks the so-called Islamic State commander if he has children. When the commander replies in the affirmative, the cowherd makes one final plea for his daughter and the children of Africa. He says, "What is written will be done. I am at peace with death. We are all his children. We must protect our children. My daughter will not be protected. That hurts my whole being. Down in the grave without knowing what will happen to her. Most of our relatives have already left. But in all this, since there is only one God, I worship, he will make justice. No one escapes his fate. Tell him that it's not death that scares me but not being able to look back".

thmurphy-37414 Timbuktu was a very good movie. I liked many parts of it and there were only a few that I wish were a little bit more attentive to detail. As the ending had many different holes that I wanted to just know what happened next. There will be many spoilers in this review by the way. Obviously you will realize all of the anger that is building up in the main character and why it is. Everyone believes they can just come to Timbuktu and feel that they own the place. As he eventually kills a nearby fisherman after one of his most favorable cows walks into the fisherman's nets and is shot dead. The cow (GPS) was also pregnant, and was worth a lot to the family. He accidentally kills the fisherman, and then is put on trial by the Jihad believes that have taken over Timbuktu. Timbuktu is such a peaceful place, yet it is ruined by the militia groups that just come in trying to enforce the way they believe life should be lived. One of the greatest moments of the film was when all of the kids were playing soccer with no ball, as soccer had been banned by the leaders of the Ansar Dine. Now, back to the ending, it did not really make much sense to me. As the husband is killed when the wife shows up with a mysterious biker, as soon as that occurs the daughter is filmed running towards some random direction, and the son is also running. Then the film closes out. Although the ending was not completely clear, I thought it was a very good movie. I would recommend it.