Entertainment | Film & Cinema
A bold theme and a pleasant surprise
Directed by one of African cinema's veterans, Ousmane Sembene, Moolade is a film that addresses the issue of female circumcision or genital mutilation.
- By Vinita Bharadwaj, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:31 May 3, 2009
Directed by one of African cinema's veterans, Ousmane Sembene, Moolade is a film that addresses the issue of female circumcision or genital mutilation.
It's an African film right from the moment it starts and you can tell by the vivid colours, the music and its treatment.
The story revolves around six young girls, who run away from a "purification ritual", and seek refuge with Colle Ardo, a circumcised woman, who refused to have her daughter cut.
She offers them Moolade or protection and fights against rigid traditionalists in order to save the young girls from what she believes is an evil tradition.
It exposes the different rationale used by those for and against the ritual, but surprisingly presented a scenario that shows women belonging to that society opposing it and wishing it were done away with.
While it doesn't contain any graphic violence, the subtle depictions of the act and the immediate consequences of death in some cases, presents disturbing scenes of an act that has serious effects on women's health.
Related Links
There are moments when the men try and exercise their authority and the characters are well-fleshed out, conveying varying emotions with natural ease to create a film that appears to be an African offering to a world audience.
In a bid to rid the women of their further empowerment, radios are collected and burnt and it is scenes such as this that form a powerful image of censorship even at the grassroots level.
More from Film & Cinema
More from Arts & Entertainment
Covering everything from entertainment and lifestyle
Cinema Reviews
Entertainment Editor's choice
-
Shah Rukh Khan can learn from Salman
Why is it that Salman always succeeds in getting past controversies?
-
My entertainment: Singer Shontelle
We talked movie icons and surprising music picks with the Bajan singer
-
Michael Jackson's still Bad
Michael Jackson's Bad returns this September with new music and never-before-seen concert video
