Yeelen

A challenging and gorgeously filmed epic based on the oral traditions and myths of the Bambara people of Mali, African filmmaker Souleymane Cissé's Yeelen (Brightness) chronicles a 13th century Oedipal battle between father and son. Following the advice of his mother, young Nianankoro sets out on a literal and spiritual journey to retrieve the "wing of Kore" from his uncle in order to confront his father, the sorcerer Somo, who is scouring the "seven earths, the sea and the sky" to find and kill the son he feels is unworthy of initiation in the Kono, a mystical society harboring the secrets of medicine, hunting, and the occult. While two servants carry the "magic post," a bulky pole which points the way towards Nianankoro, the old father offers a steady stream of supplications and curses toward the gods and his son, respectively, as he continues the unrelenting search that eventually puts him face to face with his blood nemesis in a meeting that signals the end of an oppressive society, and the beginning of a new, hopefully gentler one. Although extra-less, the DVD features a decent, colorful transfer and solid sound. Highly recommended. Also newly available at the same price are the contemporary African cinema titles Genesis and Hyenas. (R. Pitman)