Moolaadé 2004

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Opens a window to a culture we rarely see, creating both a small story of a mother and daughter and a vast story of female empowerment. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: It's masterful, simple and wise. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: This masterwork by Ousmane Sembene, the 81-year-old father of African cinema and one of Senegal's greatest novelists, is the second film in a trilogy celebrating African women. Read more

Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle: Moolaade is not a 'downer' film as much as a parable that lets us see the hardships (and occasional humor) that are inherent in an environment where the slightest change in tradition is a cause for great alarm. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: This is an important film, but that doesn't mean it's a lecture about this horrible practice. It's this vibrant, filled-with-life effort with these wonderful characters and it's very moving and sometimes, at moments it's very funny. Read more

Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: One of the strongest films ever to emerge from Africa. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Though Moolaade doesn't shy away from the task of educating its viewers about the brutality of 'purification,' it works equally well as a tribute to righteous defiance wherever it surfaces. Read more

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: It's certainly clear where the director stands on the issue, but underneath is a far richer film about the complex issues of globalization and the values of tradition. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The director has reached that point in his career where craft disappears behind grace. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: There's such a rich sense of the fullness of life in Moolaade that it sustains those passages that are truly and necessarily harrowing if Sembene is to convey the full horror of female mutilation. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: A stirring vision of civil but pointed disobedience. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: This great work of art has the potential to change the world. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: It's the work of a wise man who also happens to be a fine artist. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: Ultimately, the film seems Sembene's own war on terror. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: It says volumes about the artistry of veteran filmmaker-novelist Ousmane Sembene that he is able to take a subject as forbidding and charged as female circumcision and spin a film that is at once humane, enthralling and sensually vibrant. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Women of the Third World unite, Moolaade shouts. You have nothing to lose at all. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: The film is remarkable for its depiction of the everyday life and chores of a vanishing culture, and for making its points with clarity and precision. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: To skip Ousmane Sembene's Moolaade would be to miss an opportunity to experience the embracing, affirming, world-changing potential of humanist cinema at its finest. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Combined with solid production values, this results in a film that looks as good as any big budget production, but has a sense of verisimilitude that Hollywood could never match. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It makes a powerful statement and at the same time contains humor, charm and astonishing visual beauty. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A rare feature-film glimpse into African traditions and culture, Moolaade is part colorful travelogue, part social criticism, but mostly human drama. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: A story told in music, vivid imagery and ritualistic movement. Read more

Time Out: This is an impassioned and uplifting film. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: This richly textured parable feels every inch the work of a master. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Moolaade isn't just positive; it's positively feel-good. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: A movie to rock the soul. Read more

Neely Tucker, Washington Post: For those interested in Africa as it is -- and not how Hollywood so often has it -- Sembene provides lasting insights into village life. Read more