Life in the fabled Malian city is stilted, at first, and then menaced during a Jihadist occupation where sharia law is enforced. Exquisitely filmed with vivid moments and memorable performances, Abderrahmane Sissako's measured movie moves quietly and observantly towards its heartbreaking and inevitable conclusion, but is all the more powerful for its slice of life sensibilities.
*** 1/2 out of ****
