Moolaadé (2004)
92%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: 6 wins & 10 nominations
Mooladé, the second film in Ousmane Sembene’s trilogy celebrating African women, is a cinematic triumph of the highest order. Sembene’s masterful work eloquently conveys the central conflict between tradition and modernity in our global economy. The film’s rich cultural texture and profound emotions make it a tale of impassioned defiance and a celebration of female solidarity. While Mooladé doesn’t shy away from the task of educating its viewers about the brutality of ‘purification,’ it works equally well as a tribute to righteous defiance wherever it surfaces. Sembene’s anger and indignation are invariably tempered by his warmth, humor, and generosity of spirit, making Mooladé a poetic, provocative, and unstoppably powerful film that will leave you both entertained and enlightened.
Mooladé is a film that celebrates female empowerment and solidarity in the face of tradition and modernity. It’s a powerful and provocative work that doesn’t shy away from the brutality of ‘purification,’ but also manages to be warm, humorous, and generous of spirit. Ousmane Sembene, the father of African cinema, delivers a masterful work that is both a tribute to righteous defiance and a complex exploration of globalization and tradition. It’s a cinematic triumph of the highest order that is thrilling, alive, and far more entertaining than any message movie you’ve ever seen. Plus, it’s got some seriously strong flavors of village life and its peoples.
Production Company(ies)
Réalisation d’art cinématographique
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Senegal
MPAA / Certificate
Unrated
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Bambara, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 15, 2004 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Salimata Traoré, Aminata Dao, directed by Ousmane Sembene, written by Ousmane Sembene, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kirk Honeycutt, David Parkinson, Keith Phipps, Richard Nilsen, Philip Kemp, Brian Eggert, Tom Dawson, Emanuel Levy, Tim Brayton, genre, producer Ousmane Sembene, MPAA rating, female genital mutilation, African women, village life, globalization, tradition, modernity, female solidarity, Burkina Faso, circumcision, culture, tradition, male leaders, women’s rights, empowerment, female oppression, female resistance, African cinema, female director, female writer, female protagonist, African culture, African traditions, African values, African feminism, African identity, African heritage, African history, African storytelling, African folklore, African mythology, African spirituality, African rituals, African customs, African beliefs, African community, African society, African politics, African economics, African geography, African environment, African wildlife, African music, African dance, African art, African literature, African languages
Worldwide gross: $495,270
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $754,783
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,654
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 82,310
US/Canada gross: $215,646
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $328,641
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,431
US/Canada opening weekend: $11,982
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $18,260
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,541
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Maimouna Hélène Diarra – Hadjatou
Salimata Traoré – Amasatou
Aminata Dao – Alima Bâ
Ousmane Sembene – Director
Ousmane Sembene – Writer
Director(s)
Ousmane Sembene
Writer(s)
Ousmane Sembene
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 10 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (75) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (74) | Rotten (1)
This masterwork by Ousmane Sembene, the 81-year-old father of African cinema and one of Senegal’s greatest novelists, is the second film in a trilogy celebrating African women.
October 22, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Ousmane, who wrote and directs, gives strong flavors to his characterization of village life and its peoples. But as drama the film mostly serves to illustrate the two sides of this crucial social debate in Africa.
October 30, 2006
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Poetic, provocative and unstoppably powerful. But, depressingly, it probably won’t change a thing.
April 1, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Though Moolaadé doesn’t shy away from the task of educating its viewers about the brutality of ‘purification,’ it works equally well as a tribute to righteous defiance wherever it surfaces.
September 26, 2005
Keith Phipps
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
It’s certainly clear where the director stands on the issue, but underneath is a far richer film about the complex issues of globalization and the values of tradition.
July 21, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Solemnity rarely taints Sembéne’s films; his anger and indignation are invariably tempered by his warmth, humour and generosity of spirit.
June 7, 2005
Philip Kemp
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
With rich cultural texture and profound emotions, Moolaade is a tale of impassioned defiance and a celebration of female solidarity.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Mooladé is a masterful work, which eloquently conveys the central conflict between tradition and modernity in our global economy.
April 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Tom Dawson
The List
January 21, 2013 | Rating: A-
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Thrilling and alive and far more entertaining and exciting and easy to watch than just about any message movie you have ever seen… a cinematic triumph of the highest order.
February 15, 2010 | Rating: 10/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
The eightysomething Sembene delivers a powerfully acted and colourfully shot polemic. A perceptive observation of daily life in an African village that celebrates female bravery and solidarity.
October 22, 2007
Tom Dawson
Film4
Every character is a symbol for Sembene to realize his humanistic visions in a folklore type of cinema.
March 6, 2006 | Rating: B
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews…
Plot
In an African village this is the day when six 4-9-year-old girls are to be ‘cut’ (the act of female genital mutilation) All children know that the operation is horrible torture and sometimes lethal, and all adults know that some cut women can only give birth by Caesarean section. Two of the girls have drowned themselves in the well to escape the operation. The four other girls seek “magical protection” (moolaadé) by a woman (Colle) who seven years before refused to have her daughter circumcised. Moolaadé is indicated by a coloured rope. But no one would dare step over and fetch the children. Moolaadé can only be revoked by Colle herself. Her husband’s relatives persuade him to whip her in public into revoking. Opposite groups of women shout to her to revoke or to be steadfast, but no woman interferes. When Colle is at the wedge of fainting, the merchant takes action and stops the maltreatment. Therefore he is hunted out of the village and, when out of sight, murdered.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Fatoumata Coulibaly as Collé Gallo Ardo.
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