Ndeysaan (The Price of Forgiveness)

This ethereal and memorable Senegalese film explores the age-old challenge of forgiveness in a distinctly African setting. Mbanick, the son of a village marabout (healer/shaman) and Yatma, the scion of a wealthy family, have been best friends since childhood despite the unpleasant rivalry of their fathers. The friendship between the young men is sorely tested, however, when Mbanick and Yatma both fall in love with the beautiful Maxoye. Driven to extreme fury when he discovers Mbanick and Maxoye making love, Yatma kills his friend in a crime of passion and dumps the body into the sea, but even though the village knows Yatma is guilty, his family's power prevents justice from being served. Maxoye accepts Yatma's marriage proposal, but makes his life miserable by refusing to allow him to touch her and by insisting that he raise the child conceived by Mbanick as his own son. Yatma's long quest for Maxoye's forgiveness is quietly harrowing, and director Mansour Sora Wade allows the tale to unfold in a gentle, almost casual manner, while addressing issues of revenge, remorse, and acceptance. Sadly, this film never received a U.S. theatrical release and was only seen here in a small number of festivals, making its arrival on video all the more welcome. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)