Journey of the Hyena

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Leaburn O Anyone for a 1970s Senegalese Arthouse film? Yes, please. This dreamlike film spliced between reality and the emigrant dream is creative, colourful and well produced. Slow in places. Watched on Internet Archive which I will be revisiting a lot, as I've just seen their very impressive film library. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/19/24 Full Review dave s While Touki Bouki is clearly influential in the development of African cinema, objectively speaking and contrary to common opinion, it isn't a very good film. Generally speaking, it has the feel of a short film that has been extensively padded to make it feature length. Specifically, virtually every shot of virtually every scene runs longer than necessary, the framing is horrible at times, the soundtrack is soul-crushingly repetitive (please, no more ‘Paris, Paris' by Josephine Baker), the interior lighting is brutal, the editing is inconsistent and choppy, there are countless shots that are unnecessary (the waves crashing on the shoreline, for example), the two main characters are woefully underdeveloped, the story goes nowhere until the final thirty minutes and the continuity is non-existent. Sure, there's an important message about colonialism to be told, but that doesn't compensate for the film's considerable shortcomings. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review William L Anyone thinking that Touki Bouki made the 2012 Sight & Sound Critic's Top 100 as a token representative of African cinema is painfully mistaken; the film is a wonderfully bizarre, authentic, low-budget masterpiece. Featuring a narrative that has only become more relevant with time in an increasingly gloablized society - the plight of native Africans caught in a clash between an inherent identity that elicits some degree of loyalty, and the potential for a life of greater promise eleswhere, all taking place under a dynamic society tha still feels the effects of colonialism - and bolstered by candid representations of Senegal and an unconventional narrative structure, the film was groundbreaking for African cinema and feels uncompromisingly modern. The on-location shooting causes each shot to feel vividly alive, and the editing is itself visionary. The somewhat off-tempo narrative may cause some to feel less than comfortable, the critics laud auteurs like Godard and Tarkovsky for taking similar leaps. (4.5/5) Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/13/20 Full Review raphael g Incredible cinematography, interesting scenes, and good acting. It seemed aimless at times, although always with an air of poetry. The killing of the bull made me cry, I wasn't expecting such explicit scenes. All in all, good stuff. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This a fun flick about a time and place that we rarely see. The performances are hit and miss, but that is to be expected among what I'm guessing are mostly untrained actors. Some of the supporting characters are bonkers. There's a good dose of humor with a neorealist's eye, and great repeated use of music. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Best African film I've ever seen. Fair warning, it also contains possibly the most brutal animal death scene I've ever witnessed (within the first 5 minutes). Other reviewers' comments regarding atmosphere, imagery & colour are all valid, this is a great bit of escapism and is really not all that strange at the end of the day – by 70s standards anyhow – it is a fun watch and feels more like a French New Wave film at times (I was reminded of Rivette's 'Celine & Julie Go Boating'). Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Journey of the Hyena

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