disgusting, overrated, pointless

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Timbuktu is an intricate movie. It shows the conflicting problems occurring in Mali, and that being the control of the extremists. This movie presents a very accurate amount of detail on the treatment of women in Mali, but that's also happening in other countries as well.In this film, many women and men were not able to do activities that are common in the daily lives of others living in America and Europe, like singing, or playing soccer. I liked the way that this film showed how the character's lives were being affected daily in their lives. Many were forbidden to do things that are said not to be written on any written document, and were set up by the extremists to control the people. My favorite scene like many others who have seen this film would be when the young boys were pretending to play soccer without an actual ball, because it was forbidden by the extremist laws. This shows that many who live in Mali, and other countries that are controlled by extremists wish to do activities that they know if they are caught doing, will put their lives in danger. Overall I thought this movie was very good, but the only thing I would change would be the ending. The ending of the film was very weird to me it showed Toya one of the main characters in this film, and her brother both running in a direction which seemed like never ending, and then the film ends. I would give this film a 4/5 stars.

This film was rather slow paced, with hints of fast action and violence thrown into the mix. This film chose to show very stretched out scenes, for example, after Kidane kills Amadou, the scene where he walked across the water was very long. Even though it slightly bored me, it showed the struggle that Kidane had after he did such a difficult task. I enjoyed the eerie silences of the small Malian town. The camera pan overs of the town, while an Islamic Radicalist is telling the citizens what they cannot do according Jihad. It took me by surprise the things that the citizens could not do, including playing soccer and sitting in front of your house. Speaking of not being allowed to play soccer, some of the local boys play an imaginary game of soccer, where they played on a field, and played with a ball that was not actually there. I found this scene very powerful because I don't know what I would do if I were placed under such harsh rules such as these. Another part of this movie that was eye opening was the scene where Amadou killed the cow, GPS, just for walking in his nets. Since the nets were Amadou's way of life and production for his family, he felt justified to kill the sow for invading his life. In America, something like this would rarely ever happen, since there is a system of law that is meant to settle most disputes such as these out. Since there is not a system like that in Mali, they result to violence, which clearly did not work out well for both parties involved. If Amadou getting killed by Kidane was not bad enough, Kidane was killed by the Islamic Radicalists for killing another man. Overall, this movie showed me how strict the rules are in West Africa, and how horrible a certain group can be to the citizens in the area.

This was the second time that I have seen this movie, and I definitely liked it better the second time. I found it so interesting to get an inside look into a city under the control of extremists. The terrorists seemed like very normal, almost understanding people who cared about getting their hostage the medicine that he needed and discussed typical things like soccer star, Lionel Messi. They also seemed very hypocritical. One of the leaders of the extremist group smoked (which was forbidden) and flirted with a married woman (which was also definitely forbidden). I loved the scene in the movie when the boys were playing soccer without an actual soccer ball. It was so powerful and sad but also uplifting. The boys were making the best out of a not so great situation which was very positive of them. It is horrible how the terrorists basically outlawed all fun in the whole city including playing with balls and making music. It is unclear to me what this has to do with religion. I think they might do it to show their power. Overall, I really liked this movie and would give it four out of five stars.

Powerful, evocative & thoroughly engrossing, Timbuktu is a riveting portrait of life under regime of terror that brilliantly illustrates the absurdity of extremist mentality in a sardonic manner while also showcasing the hypocrisy of the Jihadists who themselves are unable to live up to the rules they so blatantly like to impose on the general population.Timbuktu covers everyday life in the titular city of Mali which is under the occupation of Islamists & covers the harsh life its residents are forced to live for all leisurely activities are forbidden. The plot centres on a cattle herder & his family who live on the outskirts of the city & are typically free from those terrorists' interference but an unexpected incident abruptly changes their fate.Co-written & directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, Timbuktu tackles a provocative subject matter in a very serene manner by sidelining the barbaric brutality that's inflicted by terrorists upon civilians on a daily basis and instead focuses on the human condition within an oppressed regime. Sissako's direction exhibits terrific restraint but the script is unable to fill all the voids that exist in between.The desolate locations & deserted set pieces evoke a grim environment with nearly no signs of life, camera is effectively utilised to capture all the unfolding drama in a clear, concise manner, Editing however is a mixed bag for the subsidiary scenes are more engaging than the basic plot, its 96 minutes of runtime feels overly stretched, and music makes its presence felt only when it is required.Coming to the performances, the entire cast does really well in bringing their characters to life with utmost sincerity & what further helps their act is that the people they play aren't mere caricatures, thanks to some sensible writing. Despite its grim tone, the graphic violence is kept at bay for the most part and where it leaves its mark is in moments that demonstrate the jihadists' oppressive tactics to control people's lives & faith.On an overall scale, Timbuktu is a patiently structured, beautifully layered & surprisingly unbiased observation of radicalism & its devastating effects on the lives it touches upon. Skilfully directed & smartly scripted, its arrival is undoubtedly timely but what's even more admirable is the fact that it dares to portray those zealots for what they are; humans, blinded by single-minded ideologies but humans nonetheless. Adding more grey shades to what appears black n white from afar, Timbuktu is worthy of a wider audience.