Hyenas

Diop Mambetty's masterfully told and photographed tale of the revenge of a woman wronged as a young woman by the town roué, run out of town as a slut, and who returns in her maturity, wealthy, queenly, and willing to help her old hometown that has fallen upon hard times. For a price ... It is a wonderful tale of justice delayed, of shining a light of true colors of character, and the ridiculousness of human foibles. The cinematography is rich and beautiful with the most intense saturation of color I have ever seen.

Hyenas is one of those films one cannot describe, because of the total sensiual experiance that comes out of it. Djibril Diop Mambety is an enigmatic figure in African Cinema. His first film, Touki Bouki, won an award at the Cannnes Film Festival in 1974. It was then almost 20 years until His next feature with a few shorts in between. This adaption of Friedrich Durrenmatt's, The Visit, takes the cold power of this story of spurned love to another level entirely. It becomes a metaphorical tales of materialism and consumerism and the value of human life in general. It has beautiful music,clever dialogue, ("...what is that you are smoking," Drame Dramen asks, "...if you were to ask it's name, it would say Havana..." replies the mayor of the town of Coloban. This film examines the revenge of a woman, Ramatou, driven out of town when she becomes pregnant by a married man. The Married Man, Drame Dramen, enlists the aid of two friends who lie and say she slept with her also to bring her character into question. She is driven from the town in disgrace. Twenty years later she returns a millionaire with the intention of buying justice and revenge with cold cash and consumer goods. Amidst surrealistics imagery of Washers Dryers and air conditioners she woes the villager to make them complict in her exacting that revenge. She wants the head of DFramen Drame...and the villagers may be all too willing to comply and the whispers begin. It is a timeless tale that seems to exist between now and then, a japanese woman chaffeur breaks out a cell phone in the mdidst of a dusty town on the edge of an eternal then....a crippled prosecutor, the peole of the town are colorful and brilliantly portrayed, the mayors seems a character from an African Oz...this is cinema at it's finest. I could go on but I would just like to encourage everyone to see this film. I know what I will be giving for gifts this year to close friends.

Dramaan Drameh is a shopkeeper and the mayor elect of Colobane, a poor town. Then Linguère Ramatou returns after decades away, having accumulated fabulous wealth and seeking vengeance for a long-past but deeply grievous wrong carried out by Dramaan. The film explores fascinating issues of justice and money and the relationship between the two. It also explores how the promise of money changes people. The pacing is pretty good. The film is in Wolof with English subtitles. The DVD has no special features: Just the movie and the option of scene selection. My favorite line: "She has more money than the World Bank!" Note on content: No swearing, no sex. Mention of prostitution and an adolescent pregnancy. No visual violence.

No dubbing in English

First ignore the moron who keeps posting as different swiss people. Why Amazon hasn't removed those posts is beyond me. But enough, onto the review... DJIBRIL DIOP MAMBETY- who only did two feature length films before he died. TOUKI BOUKI (his first film) which I found overrated, was the first awkward work of a director still finding his voice; whereas HYENAS his much later followup, is as accomplished a bit of filmmaking as you'll find. I found it a devastating masterpiece the first time I saw it, and time has only made that more true. One of my favorite films, it's a biting satire, funny and heartbreaking. Mambety, prior to his untimely passing also did several short films, equally well regarded, that I'm working my way toward seeing. But I highly recommend HYENAS not just as great African cinema, but great cinema period. A film of devastating power, beauty, humor, horror, and insight. And most of all humanity... in a world filled with too few people... who are humane. [...]

This is a very good movie. This is a proverbial story. It is a great allegory on vengeance and justice. I have seen several of Ousmane Sembène movies and this is my favorite movie of his creations. This is a very insightful movie with great imagery. I really like the closing thought of this movie assessing the value of revenge over the consequential achievements.

It's been a while since I saw this film (I've seen it several times), but what most reviewers miss is it's allegorical message. The film isn't about the old woman wanting the man dead, but the symbols behind the actions. The idea of an outsider (or actualy someone whose been made wealthy in Europe) asking people to do things they normally would not bring to mind the economic reforms of structural adjustment. This funny and sad film conveys the sense of afro-pessimism so prevelant today.

A very well made, filmed and acted movie from Senegal in 1992. The English subtitles for the film are white and more often than not superimposed on the pale dust of the foreground. The film is based an a play; so there is plenty of dialogue and formal speeches. If you really concentrate you can figure out what is going on, but half the nuances and irony are lost. I suppose the subtitling folks don't actually check to see if their work is legible. A shame to ruin the presentation (1 star) or a 5 star film.

Un gran trabajo de las distribuidoras y un clásico.

nicht spielbar in österreich