Timbuktu is located on the southern edge of the Northern Sahara Desert, on the north bank of the middle reaches of the Niger River, a famous river in West Africa. According to the romantic saying of the ancient nomads in West Africa, the Sahara is not a desert, but a "land and sea", and Timbuktu is right on this "land and sea". central. In the 10th century, this place was still an uninhabited place. I don’t know when, some nomads or traders who passed by dug a spring water well here. Later, a woman named Buktu moved here, thinking that she was traveling from south to north. The travelers provide accommodation and convenience for a living. Because Buketu is loyal and loyal, the Tuareg people of North African nomads who often come and go here often deal with her. Every time they go south to trade, if they return too much money, they will always deposit them here. When they return In their hometown in North Africa, when people ask about their belongings, they will always say "Dimbuktu" (in the house of Buktu). Over time, it has evolved into the place name "Timbuktu".
There are many legends about a place full of mystery like Timbuktu. In the 19th century, it became a sacred place in Canaan for European explorers. The trees attract the wind. Since Parry came here, it has now become a must for colonists and invaders. In the film "Timbuktu", the Afghan director Adraman Hissak did not explain any point in history. He directly cut into the real Timbuktu, a desolate place full of deserts. Like anywhere in the world, there are people, cattle and sheep, commerce, and rulers.
To be honest, I had a hard time finding a narrative part in this film, the director's almost calm shots are constantly showing the living conditions and desolate scenery of Timbuktu people. The city of Timbuktu is under the rule of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, and everyone is forced to abide by the "new rules of Allah" - no more music, no more football in the city, women need to be more conservative, to hide All bare skin except for the eyes. In the sand dunes far from the city lives the kind Kidane family. They live a peaceful life in the desert, singing their favorite music freely, and herding cattle freely. An unexpected death forces Kidane, the head of the family, to face trial for a terrorist organization.
In this film, the director shows us the absurd logic of jihad, fundamentalism and extremist religions, the absurdity, irrationality, man-made and contingency of jihad with the simple method of life. The director's use of the perspective of life to cut into the war is quite successful. The director Adraman Hissak, who filmed "Drought" ten years ago, as always, did not preach, but only used the accidental events in life to understand history, logic and doctrine. The legitimacy of jihad and the rationality of jihad have been questioned and criticized.
The tension of the shots is expressed to a great extent in this film. The first is that the football of the teenagers was confiscated, but they were not lost because of it, but a group of people ran together on the football field, kicked the dust on the ground, and played a football game by imagination; the second is The family was singing and playing the piano in the house, but soldiers rushed in. Their mother was whipped 80 times. During the whipping, the woman in pain knelt on the ground and tried her best to sing her song again. The three are two people who committed crimes according to Islamic law and were buried in the ground, only their heads were left, and stones were thrown at them until they died. At this moment, the camera did not leave, but calmly showed the bleeding heads of the two people. .
It's hard for us to see people's smiles in movies, and yes, they cry after a smile. However, there is a woman in the film who wears colorful clothes and drags a long skirt all day, holding a rooster all day, walking on the street learning the rooster's call, laughing, she even dares to stop "Jiha" The car of the German leader, neither the locals nor the jihadists, was powerless against her. Song Lian in Zhang Yimou's "Raise the Red Lantern" finally went "crazy", just like this woman in Timbuktu. When the unreasonable system is too oppressive to people, in order to gain sobriety and freedom, one can choose It is either to say goodbye to death, or to live in an abnormal state. The former is a powerless struggle, and the latter is a strong one.
Filmed in 2013, before jihadist groups emerged, it shows what the invader "jihad" did in the land of Timbuktu - in the name of religion, in fact It is a denial of human rights. Not just anti-Islamic, as an atheist, I am against any religion. But this objection is based on respect for certain doctrines, the goodness of Buddhism, the love of Christianity, and no one will object. What we need to face is fanaticism under the veneer of religion. Many people say that there is no religion in today's China. In fact, more of them mean that there is no religious belief in China.
Just like the Kidane family in the movie, they originally lived in the desert and lived as nomads. Before and after the arrival of "Jihad", they did not have no chance to escape from such a place, but as Kidane said, "I I don't want you (wife) and your daughter to suffer from displacement, at least we don't have to go hungry here." They are pure believers in Allah, but they do not show great fanaticism about religion. After all, after survival, outside life is the habitat of religion. If there is no food in a place, then people who talk about morality are stupid and ignorant.
Kidane accidentally shot and killed the fisherman because the fisherman killed his own cow, which became the beginning of a nightmare. Kidane's wife and daughter stood in the desert day and night expecting him to come back, but he had no way of getting in touch with them while in prison. Finally, with the help of the jailer, he got in touch with his wife. The wife on the other end of the phone hung up the phone, holding her daughter with a calm face and tears streaming down her face, which made people suffocate. Faced with the punishment of Islamic law, Kidane did not have any excuses, but just said over and over again that he missed his daughter. Before he died, he wanted to see her again and continue to protect her. so powerless. Couldn't even sit sadly beside her.
Echoing Kidane, the daughter of an old woman was spotted by a jihadist soldier, and she came to the door unreasonably to ask for relatives. If she did not agree, she would be forcibly taken away. Sharia law", women simply lost their status. Back to Kidane, without him, his wife and daughter will inevitably have the same consequences. He regrets it. He should give up everything in Timbuktu and take them away. Although he is hungry, at least he is on the road. They can survive and have a minimum of dignity. In the end, Kidane's wife was taken to the execution ground by people who opposed "Jihad". Kidane rushed to give his wife a hug, but both of them died at gunpoint. Only one daughter is left running in the desert, just like the sheep chased by the jihadist soldiers at the beginning of the movie. Death and life are unpredictable, and everything is so powerless.
"Timbuktu" is so simple, so simple that it is so alienated and unfamiliar to us. This is a country without freedom, a country without happiness. Religion has not only become a shelter for them to live in, but also gives them spiritual comfort, so that these people living in misery can have the last bit of faith. However, religion is a ray of light that can give people strength and guidance in difficult situations. When real suffering comes, to what extent can religion offer salvation? After all, it is a mirage, a fantasy that people build for themselves. They live in it, hoping to be forever shrouded in the light of Allah. Isn't this kind of sad?
There is no objection to a person having beliefs, because beliefs are beliefs about the future, and people live well because of this. But once faith is put on the cloak of religion, it is always unavoidable to be used. I have always supported that China is a country without religion, but this country is not without faith. The belief of the Chinese is their ancestors and themselves. When the sky falls, we have to find stones and smelt them out to make up for ourselves; when the flood comes, we must unite to block and comb; even the sea, we can fill it, and even the sun, we can chase it.
Director Adraman Shisakho is always giving the world a special show, from Afghanistan to much of the Arab world in the Middle East to Africa in Timbuktu. His perspective is always on human existence. Survival and development are two words that politicians say badly. However, under his lens, it is more a political explanation and more a real display. Thanks to Adraman Shisakko, audiences all over the world can see a real and cruel Africa. It's so close to us and yet so far away. We can feel the restless breathing hidden in its scorching air, and at the same time deeply shy away from its barrenness and ignorance. Movies are the art of life. Maybe life is far more cruel than movies.
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