Khady Mane
Banel
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Drama
Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. The young married couple lives in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists. Yet their perfect everlasting love is on a collision course with their community’s customs. Because in this world, there is no room for passion, let alone chaos.
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| Release Date | 2023-08-30 |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 1h 27m |
| Directors | Ramata-Toulaye Sy, Amine Berrada, Fabacary Coly |
| Producers | Andrey Samoute Diarra, Margaux Juvénal, Souleymane Kébé, Maud Leclair, Éric Névé, Oumar Sy |
| Writer | Ramata-Toulaye Sy |
EXT. DESTINY - DAY
Banel & Adama is about destiny, loss and sacrifice. Luckily Banel & Adama doesn't sacrifice anything to present us with this story.
Narratively it flows, opening on the love of our two protagonists: Banel, a woman who recently lost her partner and Adama, who has recently lost both father and brother (FYI, his brother was Banel's partner). With that recent loss, they are brought together out of, at least at the beginning, love and responsibility within the community and religion.
Banel & Adama have a great score matching fantastic cinematography at the start and end, relying upon the story to keep you engaged. Thankfully that story unfolds truths about their relationship and forces them to fulfil birthrights and responsibilities.
Unfortunately, the believability of their relationship is thin, and what's even harder to believe is the twist of how they came together, which is so quickly thrown in with minimal set-up and then so forgotten to make it seem like it's a plot line that was pulled last minute.
The first and final 20 minutes are its most outstanding moments, visually, narratively and audibly. Making it worth your time.
FADE OUT.
— Lachlan Thiele