Bamako

This film is set in a small courtyard in the Malian capital, Bamako. A trial is taking place; on the one side those representing the ordinary people of Africa on the other those representing the organisations they hold responsible for the national debts that keep the people impoverished. While the trial progresses we meet various characters; some are witnesses others are ordinary people going about their lives.

This is an interesting film even though we know such a trial would never take place and if it did it wouldn't be in a public courtyard... that isn't really a problem though. The case raises some important issues about how African nations are treated however it does feel too polemic at times; this is especially the case when a French lawyer rails against the World Bank, the IMF and the west in general towards the end... the earlier more personal testimonies from affected Africans felt far more relevant. I liked the little details away from the details of the trail; a policeman has his gun stolen while he had a nap; a singer plans to move to Senegal and locals watch 'Death in Timbuktu', a pseudo-spaghetti western starring Danny Glover... this section was particularly inventive as we switch to watching this film within the film for several minutes. Overall I'd say this was fairly interesting but I felt it would have been more interesting if we'd seen more of people's ordinary lives and a little less of the trial.

It is impossible to resist this little innocent beauty of a movie. The heartbreak of today's Africa is overwhelming. Wars, violence, immense poverty, AIDS and perhaps the worst of all, hopelessness. There doesn't seem to be a light at the end of a tunnel. " Bamako" is a very unusual movie. Even its description is inaccurate. The mock trial of the World Bank, IMF and other immoral bloodsuckers takes the most of the movie. Little personal tragedy of Mele and Chaka brought upon by the despair of the everyday Mali, is unfortunately just a sideline, never fully explained or told. Because of that this powerful movie seems more like a documentary or a political tirade.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I went to watch this film. I can't tell much without giving away what the movie is all about. I will only say that the "acting" is just perfect, as long as it is not acting. People are mostly activists who actually speak out the truth. The movie is highly symbolic and we have to understand that the director is not trying to be realistic or straightforward. The trial that is taking place in a regular house yard, is surrounded by the everyday lives of the people of Bamako. The result is moving, beautiful and awakening experience. Especially for those who are not very familiar with the situation in Africa and don't know or don't want to know what the West is doing to billions of people around the world in order to maintain our level of useless consumption, it will be an eye opening experience. I absolutely recommend this movie.

I've been really surprised by this movie, It's not entertaining (narration mode very personal) and that's difficult to accept for many people.

This movie is an alert that things are going too far in Africa in general and in Mali in particular.

Intelligently done with many links and references to the international behavior in front of money and poverty. The glance through the cowboy movie or the interaction of the 'neighborhood' with the court to echo the speeches and how people believe in the 'trial'.

I do recommend this movie to give a chance to African film makers to raise their voice in front of the "collecting_money_at_all_costs" machine that became IMF or the World Bank

I'm hardly an expert on African economics, or social life, but this story whose political viewpoint is clearly African does what I think a movie should: it presents both sides of an issue -- in this case Mali's financial struggle and whether the World Bank and IMF should be blamed for the distress of the people.

Through a story that revolves around a court case, we see the stories of struggle of a wide range of people: mother, educator, escapee, unemployed person, and the average guy trying to make ends meet but having a difficult time.

For me, it clarified some of the issues and effects of fairly extreme poverty and lack of government prioritization for social services, health and education. It made the argument that a government may be at fault for selling out the country's future at the expense of developing a stronger base.

The bleakness, however does something bigger, or I hope it does -- I hope it gives strength to continue to fight as the producers, I think, would like.

See this. Africa is an important piece of the world and an important piece of the globalization of the world.