Yeelen

1987, 105 minutes, Digital
Mali, Burkina Faso, France, West Germany, Japan

Language: Bambara, Fulah

Director: Souleymane Cissé

Filmed in the African country of Mali, Yeelen weaves several Kenyan folk stories into an engaging framework. The hero is a young boy whose father is an evil magician. Marked for death by his long-absent papa, the boy bids goodbye to his mother and heads for the hills. En route to his kindly uncle, our hero utilizes his own conjuring skills for the benefit of those less fortunate than himself; he also rescues a king from being deposed.~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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