Moolaade took on systemic misogyny.

| Mar 4, 2024

One of the greatest of late films.

| Sep 7, 2023

With rich cultural texture and profound emotions, Moolaade is a tale of impassioned defiance and a celebration of female solidarity.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 14, 2022

Mooladé is a masterful work, which eloquently conveys the central conflict between tradition and modernity in our global economy.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 26, 2019

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jan 21, 2013

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.

| Original Score: 10/10 | Feb 15, 2010

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.

| Oct 22, 2007

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.

| Oct 22, 2007

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.

Full Review | Oct 30, 2006

This is an impassioned and uplifting film.

| Jun 24, 2006

Poetic, provocative and unstoppably powerful. But, depressingly, it probably won't change a thing.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 1, 2006

Every character is a symbol for Sembene to realize his humanistic visions in a folklore type of cinema.

| Original Score: B | Mar 6, 2006

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.

Full Review | Sep 26, 2005

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 21, 2005

Tthe most exuberant films ever made about female circumcision.

| Jun 21, 2005

Solemnity rarely taints Sembéne's films; his anger and indignation are invariably tempered by his warmth, humour and generosity of spirit.

| Jun 7, 2005

Sembene provides not only a fascinating glimpse into the culture of tropical Africa, but also a powerful account of the social turmoil which bubbles beneath the surface.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 31, 2005

"Moolaade" works as a stirring parable for any community where progressive citizens and regressive policies collide.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 27, 2005

Never less than vivid.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Apr 29, 2005

Moolaade is an amazing film -- colourful, in-your-face, thick with intense conversation -- and because of the subject matter, it's simultaneously fascinating and repellent to watch.

Full Review | Apr 22, 2005