Mandabi

Mandabi
by Ousmane Sembene

Mandabi
Our Price: $29.95
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $19.79 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details


(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

DVD details

Actor: Isseu Niang, Makhouredia Gueye, Serigne N'Diayes, Serigne Sow, Ynousse N'Diaye
Director: Ousmane Sembene
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Original Language); Wolof (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: New Yorker

DVD Reviews of Mandabi

DVD Review: A stinging satire of life in 1960s Senegal
Summary: 4 Stars

"Mandabi" provides a window in the life and the daily struggles of ordinarily people in Senegal in the years after gaining independence. And it was a hard life.

"Mandabi" is not really a comedy, except in the sense of a comedy of errors or a very dark comedy. It is the heartbreaking story of Ibrahima, a poor, naive man who thinks he has gotten a break when his nephew sends him a money order from Paris, but . . .
Ibrahima can't cash the money order without an ID card.
He can't get an ID card without a birth certificate.
He can't get a birth certificate because he doesn't know his exact birth information.
He struggles to find a solution to his problem, but his solutions make his problem worse.

Ibrahima can't read and doesn't speak French, so he must rely on Westernized or educated Senegalese to help him. But they take advantage of his naivete and ignorance of the system to rob him of the little money he has. Meanwhile, as word of his new-found fortune spreads around his poor neighborhood, everyone he knows comes asking for money, and it is hard for him to say "no."

The product description says that the film is "about a civilization struggling to recapture its own rich heritage after a century of colonial corruption." This is not really an accurate description of the movie. It is more about the venality, corruption, difficulty, and meanness of life in Senegal in the 1960s.

If there are notable flaws with the movie, they are its pacing and the subtitles. The movie is slow, sometimes very slow. Scenes of action and dialogue are separated by long, ruminative camera shots accompanied by kora music. But a bored viewer can easily fast-forward through those. Also, the subtitles are quite old and done in narrow, white typeface, making them hard to read at times.
More Mandabi reviews:
1
Bestsellers in DVD
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] ImageThe Story of Jeremiah [VHS]
Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS] ImageWresting With God [VHS]
by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $19.99
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS] ImageStudy Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]
Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops: $44.00
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS] ImageTempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]
HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops: $9.98
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/Party Video [VHS] ImageTempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]
HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Strike the Original Match [VHS] ImageStrike the Original Match [VHS]
New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $14.95
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] ImageMedjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]
JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008 ImageMayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008
by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops: $1,463.24
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single User ImagePediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single User
by Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops: $1,463.24
Cost Accounting [VHS] ImageCost Accounting [VHS]
by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Rome Open City / Paisan / Germany Year Zero) (The Criterion Collection) ImageRoberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Rome Open City / Paisan / Germany Year Zero) (The Criterion Collection)
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2010-01-26; DVD
Best price: $46.07
Price in other shops: $79.95
No Man's Land ImageNo Man's Land
Sony; Release date: 2002-04-09; DVD
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops: $14.98
Bamako ImageBamako
Release date: 2008-04-15; DVD
Best price: $29.95
Moolaadé ImageMoolaadé
Release date: 2007-12-11; DVD
Best price: $29.95
Faat Kiné ImageFaat Kiné
Release date: 2009-09-04; DVD
Best price: $24.95
Hyenas ImageHyenas
Kino Video; Release date: 2003-10-28; DVD
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops: $24.95
Touki Bouki ImageTouki Bouki
Kino International; Release date: 2005-09-06; DVD
Best price: $15.92
Price in other shops: $29.95
Black Girl/Borom Sarret ImageBlack Girl/ Borom Sarret
Release date: 2005-11-22; DVD
Best price: $29.95
Xala ImageXala
Release date: 2005-05-31; DVD
Best price: $29.95
Camp de Thiaroye ImageCamp de Thiaroye
Release date: 2008-11-11; DVD
Best price: $29.95
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners