[Country: Mali, Burkina Faso, France, Germany. Yeelen - Name Meaning - Discover more about the meaning of the name Yeelen. For example, MacRae’s research suggests that the name Soma references a type of competitive sorcerer intent on vanquishing rivals, a fact with which Malian audiences might be familiar and which would support an understanding of the film as a retelling of a common myth or of the characters as familiar types (1995: 61). Passing through the territory of the Fulas, he is thought to be a thief and captured. ), Cinema, Colonialism, Postcolonialism: Perspectives from the French and Francophone Worlds, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996, pp. Ultimately, the film reveals a thematic repetition of imagery that allows the visuals to operate symbolically. Cissé considers Yeelen his most political film, but admits political pressure forced him to tone down the criticism of the government in his films. Her son takes the egg of his father and his mother gives him Kore's Wing, and they leave the desert. Yeelen is a film that obviously took some effort and some love to make - the filmmakers had almost no money, really; all they had was a pocketful of dreams. Souleyman Cissé has made only a handful of films since his career as a writer-director began in the early 1970's. All information about the first name Karl Yeelen. How does the perception of Africa as other enter into this perception of the film? Un jeune homme va recevoir le savoir destiné à lui assurer la maîtrise des forces qui l'entourent, cette connaissance que les bambaras se transmettent depuis toujours. 188–228. As Cissé says, "In Africa we are all believers in magic. Yeelen retrace un parcours initiatique à une époque non définie. Though the era is undefined, it is presumably set in the 13th century in the Mali Empire[1] and is a heroic quest narrative featuring magic and precognition. The term, as used by Frederic Jameson, suggests that all texts have a political dimension that incorporates a philosophy of history beyond the literal political interpretation of their narratives. If understood as a political statement against tyrannical rule built upon the Sundiata myth, then Yeelen (1987) 617 Yeelen can be considered a Bildungsroman, a rite-of-passage narrative about an ordinary man who matures as a wielder of magic, even though it lacks the psychological overtones we … Yeelen name numerology is 3 and here you can learn how to pronounce Yeelen, Yeelen origin and similar names to Yeelen name. Manthia Diawara, ‘Souleymane Cisse’s Light on Africa’, Black Film Review, Fall 1998. Mostly filmed on the savannah of Burkina Faso, it's an incredible tale of magic and sorcery with a similarly wacky vibe to Jodorowsky's films. The layered meanings of the film make it difficult to tie the film to a single mode of discourse. It is the 13th century, in the time … Yeelen is a profoundly West African film, an epic Bildungsroman centered on a dynastic struggle within the distinguished Diarra family of the Bambara branch of the Mande people. Impressed, King Rouma offers Nianankoro his freedom in exchange for aid against a rival tribe. Leave Time for Spontaneous Excursions — Opportunity sometimes knocks at unexpected times. A young man, Nianankoro, embarks on a journey across ancient Mali to fulfil his destiny and challenge his tyrannical father Soma, a member of the Komo society which holds the secrets of a divine cosmic force. Yeelen is definitely a beautiful film as well, but underneath the hypnotic visuals and apparently obscure storyline await many other layers of meaning for those who wish to unpack them, making each viewing of this film a new experience. Yeelen Titre allemand Yeelen - Das Licht Titre français La lumière Autres titres La luce Réalisation Souleymane Cissé: Pays Mali: Formats 35mm, DVD, DCP Scénario Souleymane Cissé Montage Andrée Davanture, Dounamba Coulibali Musique Michel Portal, Salif Keita Image Jean-Noel Ferragut Son John Downing, ‘Post-Tricolor African Cinema: Toward a Richer Vision’, in Dina Sherzer (ed. Le père ne supporte pas de voir son fils renier ce pourquoi il vit avec les autres sorciers du désert. On the one hand, Yeelen discloses the inner workings of a culture and universalises them. Darker blue on the map indicates that people … One approach to answering these questions involves considering the nuances of the film’s allegory in relation to viewers’ access to the distinct cultural knowledge of the Bambara. It is the distinctive cultural knowledge of Mali that allows both readings to coexist, and our attempts to appropriate that knowledge, or our inability to do so, mirrors the struggle over access to the secrets of the Komo in the film. Although set in an unspecified time period, it is widely believed that the film is based on the legend of Sundiata Keita, the thirteenth-century founder of the Malian empire who used magic to defeat an oppressive ruler. Manthia Diawara, African Cinema: Politics and Culture, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1992. By presenting the intricacies of its ceremonies, Cissé not only introduced Malians to clandestine rites they had heard about but never seen, but he also ‘decode[d] the secret ritual described by the song [Malians] usually hear on the radio’; these spectators are encouraged to ‘look for the codic meaning of the song, which [contains] the secrets of the universe’ (Diawara 1998: 15). The overall analysis within these films seeks to explore the root of cultural and political forces affecting the continent amidst domination by western culture. What is thrown into relief is not magic; it is knowledge and the power of knowledge. The mere complexity of the rituals of sorcery, which include spitting, powerful wooden boards and amulets, various symbolic human and animal figures, and distinctive patterns of speech and mimicry, to name a few elements, invites audiences to linger over the foreignness and inherent beauty of Bambara culture. Il ne nous reste plus qu'à vous souhaiter un bon visionnage de Yeelen sur Live DS. Though the era is undefined, it is presumably set in the 13th century in the Mali Empire and is a heroic quest narrative featuring magic and precognition. Yeelen won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987, making Cissé the first African to place at the prestigious festival and giving the film an enduring international acclaim. The spiritual interpretation suggests we read the film as an epic with archetypal characters. Yeelen is a story of cosmogony, an account of the origins of the universe. Yeelen name meaning available! 3, Fall 1995, pp. A young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to … With this framing, we might interpret the film’s political allegory as mere indictment of tyranny. In this sense, Yeelen can be regarded as an anthropological film, immersing audiences in a world view that can only be fully comprehended through extensive study. Yeelen can be read as an appropriation of the history and myth of Mali as inspiration for postcolonial resistance. Cissé considers this endless cycle of the consolidation, destruction and recreation of knowledge by each generation Yeelen’s most ‘universal aspect’ (Diawara 1998: 15) While the film certainly indicts Soma for his refusal to share power, the sense of destiny guiding Nianankoro’s actions suggests a more spiritual than political claim about the principle of infinite renewal.