Its director, Souleymane Cissé, from Mali in West Africa, has expressed his desire to make films which are uniquely African in style rather than imitating those of the United Sates or Europe
To this end he relies on stories, true and mythical, told by old men and handed down through the generations
A young warrior (Issiaka Kane), threatened with death by his evil sorcerer father (Niamanto Sanogo), goes on a journey where he learns the power of magic The film inhabits a world of dreams, but not the kind described by Dr Freud
However, the movie's basis in a mystical tradition does not render it inaccessible to Western audiences The structure of the narrative, based on a quest for magical knowledge and power, is clear and firm, and the consistent pattern of imagery based on the elements of fire, water, earth and light (the title translates as 'brightness') is not specific to African culture The film's use of landscape, yellow spaces of the desert, is one of its chief glories The performers too have great charm
A young warrior (Issiaka Kane), threatened with death by his evil sorcerer father (Niamanto Sanogo), goes on a journey where he learns the power of magic The film inhabits a world of dreams, but not the kind described by Dr Freud
However, the movie's basis in a mystical tradition does not render it inaccessible to Western audiences The structure of the narrative, based on a quest for magical knowledge and power, is clear and firm, and the consistent pattern of imagery based on the elements of fire, water, earth and light (the title translates as 'brightness') is not specific to African culture The film's use of landscape, yellow spaces of the desert, is one of its chief glories The performers too have great charm