Moolaadé Movie Review

Growing up in America, a self-proclaimed melting pot, there is always an enormous mix of cultural customs visible on the streets every day. But one custom that has not made it to our shores and seems extremely inhumane is that of female circumcision.

81-year-old writer-director-author Ousmane Sembene has been a provocative force for social change in his native Africa for over 50 years. Though most of his films do not get distributed on U.S. soil, they are a solid reminder of human rights issues that still need to be addressed. With his latest, Moolaadé, he gracefully illustrates the organizing of mothers in a small rural community to keep their daughters from being “purified”.

What makes Moolaadé such an engaging film is how the uprising of these mothers is gradually mixed into the simple moments of daily livelihood of the community. Everyone has chores, be it going to visit the mercenaire (Dominique T. Zeïda) for batteries or picking up water. The revolt is gently begun by several children who come to Collé (Fatoumata Coulibaly) seeking protection, as it is known she refused to have her daughter, Amasatou, (Salimata Traoré) cut. Adding to the tension is that Amasatou is supposed to marry a rich son of an elder who will shortly be returning home for the ceremony and the circle of women which performs the ritual insists along with the men that the union cannot take place unless Amasatou undergoes the procedure.

Collé is an amazing character to watch and a heroic symbol of the film overall. In many religions and myths, the name is associated with the goddess of birth and death. Collé, like the film, is beautifully structured to respect the environs in which she must live while quietly promoting a healthier change for women. And because she understands the inner circle of which she must participate, the slow sway of her peers to support her feels genuine and allows for a sense of hope, even as you feel pain for the young girls that cry.

It can be difficult to keep track of names, relations, and some of the verbal history that maintains certain rites of passage in the film, but there is not a single wasted minute or character onscreen. Though centered more on Collé’s fight than anything else, the ensemble cast provides a moving portrait of the varying mindsets in such a structured society, and what it takes to create such a drastic change in routine. All of these various threads, from chauvinism to Amasatou’s role as an outsider, to the pressure Collé’s husband receives for her insurrection, culminate in a truly powerful scene as Collé is whipped in front of the village in an attempt to make her say the word that will lift the protective curse, or moolaade, she has placed on the children she is harboring.

In making this a fiction film instead of a documentary, Sembene brilliantly crafts a stunning work that encourages you to empathize instead of simply shocking you with painful imagery. Moolaadé is a fascinating story of honest heroism that manages to entertain even as it enlightens about an agonizing operation that should be stopped.

Reviewed as part of the 2004 New York Film Festival.