A cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed... Read allA cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed.A cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 33 wins & 27 nominations total
- Kidane
- (as Ibrahim Ahmed dit Pino)
- Juge
- (as Weli Cleib)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene in which the cow was killed with a spear was done by sedating the cow under the supervision of a veterinarian and adding the spear digitally in post production - the animal was not harmed.
- GoofsIn the stoning scene, both man and woman are buried up to their necks. In a proper Islamic stoning (rajm), the woman should only be buried up to her waist.
- Quotes
L'Imam: [to a jihadist] Stop this. You cause harm to Islam and Muslims. You put children in danger in front of their poor mother. You even hit the mother of two children without any good reason. Before you came, a woman was here to complain that you forced her to wear gloves-- here they are-- without convincing her of their usefulness, as is prescribed by Allah and His prophet. Remember the words of Allah the Almighty: "So pardon them. Consult them in the matter. Speak with them. Once you've made a decision, put your trust in Allah, for He loves those who rely upon Him." Where's leniency? Where's forgiveness? Where's piety? Where's exchange... exchange? Where is God in all this?
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Oscars (2015)
- SoundtracksShooting The Statues
Composed, Arranged and Orchestrated By Amin Bouhafa
with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
© 2014 Universal Music France
Couple of comments: first, it is a small miracle that a movie like "Timbuktu" could even have been made. Writer-director Abderrahmane Sissako shot the movie in Mauritania, which subs for Mali, but let's not kid ourselves. Mauritania is an "Islamic Republic", so it was no easy feat to shoot there either. Second, Sissako demonstrates again and again how much the local population resends the jihadis for uprooting their lives. There are several scenes in which a local man pleads with the jihadis ("where is forgiveness? where is leniency?"), to no avail of course. Playing soccer will cost you 20 leashes. Playing music comes at 40 lashes. Being in the room with someone from the opposite sex is another 40 lashes, and on and on. The fact that the neither side can understand the other (they speak Tamasheq in Timbuktu, the jihadis mostly speak Arabian, some also speak French or English) only makes the entire situation even more absurd. Second, while there are some shocking scenes in the movie, overall this is not a violent or graphic film. Almost on the contrary, in that the movie's editing and photography is done in such a way that it induces a false sense of peace and security. The photography in particular is pure eye-candy. Third, I have no idea where Sissako found these performers, but there are some wonderful performances, in particular from the wife and the 12 yr. old daughter. Bottom line: there is a good reason why this film is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, as it is a deeply moving film that will stay with you long after you have seen it.
The movie finally opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I went to see it right away. The matinée screening where I saw this at today was attended okay but not great, although I'm hoping that the bitter cold weather is a factor for that. If you like a top-notch foreign film that provides a glimpse of what real life under jihad is like, you cannot go wrong with this. "Timbuktu" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
- paul-allaer
- Feb 13, 2015
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Timbuktú
- Filming locations
- Oualata, Mauritania(as Timbuktu)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,076,075
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $45,110
- Feb 1, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $7,179,391
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1