Waiting for Happiness

The conflict between tradition and change in a small Mauritanian village is the general subject of Abderrahmane Sissako's Waiting for Happiness, a lovely, languorous slice-of-life film that eschews linear narrative in favor of atmospheric episodes. One thread involves an alienated young man eager to leave home for the wider world; another follows a small girl being taught traditional songs by an elderly woman; and a third—which moves from past to future—focuses on a young orphan serving as an apprentice to a man who strings electrical wires throughout the village, installing one light bulb at a time. These are only three of the interlocking stories that Sissako shuffles between to form a collage of village life that is occasionally disrupted by outside forces—such as when a body washes up on a nearby beach. Waiting for Happiness offers a poetic reverie on a way of life that's changing almost imperceptibly and may soon be lost forever. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an introduction to the film for Link TV's Cinemondo series, an interview with Sissako, text director's notes, and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a fine film.] (F. Swietek)