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Perhaps slightly formulaic and cliched, and too sprawling for its own good - Timbuktu is riveting from the opening gunshots that startle the wildlife and audience alike. Beautifully shot in cinemascope, the great distance we often see the characters from frames them in their environments in a way similar to Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
While the film inflicts brutality upon its characters, none of the violence feels exploitative or desensitised, especially warranted given director Sissako loosely based the film on a real stoning in Mali. The film reaches an emotional climax in the final few moments, ending with precision that forgives the less focused opening act.
The aspect of the film that haunted me most was the function of Western products: Toyota 4x4, mobile phones and digital video cameras are used by the ISIS group in the film. Like Argo, the reminder that these atrocities, and this extremism exists in our contemporary world, not disconnected from Western comforts, proves to be a chilling focal point of the film.
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