This masterwork by Ousmane Sembene, the 81-year-old father of African cinema and one of Senegal's greatest novelists, is the second film in a trilogy celebrating African women.
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10/22/07
Moolaade (2004)
100
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:26
Rotten:0
Average Rating:8.5/10
Consensus: A vibrant, powerful, and poignant glimpse into the struggles of women in modern Africa.
Theatrical Release:Oct 15, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: African cinema's founding father, 81-year-old Ousmane Sembene, continues to be its most fiery, provocative spirit. Extending the strong feminist consciousness that marked his previous triumph Faat... [More]
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Reviews for Moolaade
Top CriticOusmane, who wrote and directs, gives strong flavors to his characterization of village life and its peoples. But as drama the film mostly serves to illustrate the two sides of this crucial social debate in Africa.
10/30/06
Top CriticIt's certainly clear where the director stands on the issue, but underneath is a far richer film about the complex issues of globalization and the values of tradition.
07/21/05
Top CriticA story told in music, vivid imagery and ritualistic movement.
04/15/05
Top CriticA stirring vision of civil but pointed disobedience.
02/25/05
Top CriticA protest movie made with warm affection for most of its characters.
02/25/05
Top CriticOne of the strongest films ever to emerge from Africa.
02/17/05
Top CriticA rare feature-film glimpse into African traditions and culture, Moolaade is part colorful travelogue, part social criticism, but mostly human drama.
01/27/05
Top CriticIt's the work of a wise man who also happens to be a fine artist.
01/13/05
Top CriticMoolaadé is not a 'downer' film as much as a parable that lets us see the hardships (and occasional humor) that are inherent in an environment where the slightest change in tradition is a cause for great alarm.
12/31/04
Top CriticThe director has reached that point in his career where craft disappears behind grace.
12/10/04
Top CriticFor those interested in Africa as it is -- and not how Hollywood so often has it -- Sembene provides lasting insights into village life.
12/03/04
Top CriticIt makes a powerful statement and at the same time contains humor, charm and astonishing visual beauty.
12/03/04
Top CriticA movie to rock the soul.
12/02/04
Top CriticIt's masterful, simple and wise.
12/02/04
Top CriticThere's such a rich sense of the fullness of life in Moolaadé that it sustains those passages that are truly and necessarily harrowing if Sembene is to convey the full horror of female mutilation.
11/18/04
Top CriticThis is an important film, but that doesn’t mean it’s a lecture about this horrible practice. It’s this vibrant, filled-with-life effort with these wonderful characters and it’s very moving and sometimes, at moments it’s very funny.
11/08/04
Top CriticWomen of the Third World unite, Moolaadé shouts. You have nothing to lose at all.
10/15/04
Top CriticThe film is remarkable for its depiction of the everyday life and chores of a vanishing culture, and for making its points with clarity and precision.
10/15/04
Top CriticA stand-up-and-cheer finale.
10/15/04
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