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Senegal, France · 1977
1h 52m
Director Ousmane Sembène
Starring Mamadou Dioumé, Ousmane Sembène, Tabata Ndiaye, Moustapha Yade
Genre Drama
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In the early years of European presence in Senegal, the Ceddo (non-Muslims) try to preserve their traditional culture against the encroaching onslaught of Islam, Christianity, and the slave trade. When the local king sides with the Muslims, the Ceddo abduct his daughter to protest their forced conversion to Islam, sparking a bitter war.
Ousmane Sembene's 1977 Senegalese film was attacked for daring to depict life in precolonial Africa as something less than paradisiacal.
New York Times by Vincent Canby
Only twice, in fantasy sequences, does Mr. Sembene allow himself the imaginative film maker's freedom to distort history to achieve some kind of dramatic truth. The rest is picturesque.
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