Emitaï

This frustrating film is brilliant in concept but intensely awkward in execution. His main themes throughout his career are hammered relentlessly: that male elders invited their oppression and that the society rests on the labor of women. But the philosophical issues are alluded to in passing and the use of non-actors portraying elders should have given far less time to their deliberations. The ending is far too abrupt and thwarts the understanding he was building up to all along. Compare this to his most recent film "Faat Kine" and you will see Sembene's development as a storyteller.