Languidly beautiful, and truthful
16 November 2011
Living next to the sea in the white windy sand dunes, with Sahara desert all around.

Waiting for. Sat inside a listless life. Waiting that isn't procrastinating. Cus there's nothing waiting to be done.

If you don't mind waiting – if you actually prefer waiting as an antidote to too much busy doing – you'll like this film.

The wind whirling around that sand. Jan Gabarek saxophone comes out of car stereo. Surprising touch of contemporary modernity.

More like a vernacular documentary than a scripted drama. Watch it like you listen to music, like you were that young daughter singing along with her mother playing the kora.

Reminiscent of Iranian film The Day I became a Woman. The sea, sand, the white light, vivid cotton colours of clothes worn, those sheets flapped by the wind. Relationships – between old electrician and his young apprentice for example – having the symbolic tenderness of a timeless parable.

How many African films have i seen? Not many. Mauritania looks unfamiliar, feels unknown. Where is Mauritania anyway? A languid quiescence bleaches out of almost every scene. I can feel myself wanting to lie back and be as quiet as the characters are.

This is a proper film. By proper i mean owned by the director, belonging somewhere personal and close to heart. Not a made for cinema confection.

There's something beautiful – as well as truthful – about the compassionate integrity of this film.
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