Min Ye (Mali: 2009)

Director

Souleymane Cisse

Cast list

Sokona Gakou... Mimi
Assane Kouyate... Issa
Badra Alou Sissoko

Credits

Writing Credits: Souleymane Cisse (Writer)

Synopsis

"Min Ye" stars Assane Kouyate as Issa, a filmmaker who lives in the torment of jealousy and suspicion about one of his wives, Mimi, who works as a doctor for a national development project. The couple's sources of income are far from clear-Issa's weighty occupation suggests only that he's sensitive and thoughtful, in spite of his clinging to the polygamist tradition; her work is seen only briefly, and it doesn't occupy much of her time. Indeed, what the couple do spend much of their time on is scheming-she to meet her lover; he to catch her in the act-and then quarreling, rendered by Cisse in repeated, explosive outbursts.

The emotional fireworks mainly come from Mimi, Issa's least favorite wife in this comedy of unmarriage, whose moods and whims change with her wardrobe. And what a wardrobe: her flowing caftans of shimmering, vivid fabric and puzzlingly large golden rings are nearly overshadowed by her great gobs of makeup and a medusa-like shock of shiny, black locks. She's a force to be reckoned with-and aims to prove it when Issa's impatience and suspicions prompt him to involve his lawyers.

Reviews

Leo Goldsmith, Divorce, Malian Style. Reverse Shot (online magazine)

Lindsey Parnell, Souleymane Cissé: Cinema Between Darkness and Light. The Culture Trip (online magazine)

Deborah Young, Min Ye—Film Review. The Hollywood Reporter (online magazine)

Academic Articles:

Du cote des anciens by Vincent Malausa. Cahiers du Cinema, Vol. 666 (April 2011), pp. 47

Alternating Views: Malian Cinema, Television Serials, and Democratic Experience by Alioune Sow. Africa Today, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Summer 2009), pp. 50-70

The Survival of Names of African Origin in Martinique After Emancipation by Guillaume Durand. Dialectical Anthropology, Vol. 26, No. 3/4 (2001), pp. 193-233

Other movies from Mali made in

Title Country Year Director More infos
Min Ye Mali 2009 Souleymane Cisse
Fantan Fanga (Power of the Poor) Mali 2009 Ladji Diakite, Adama Drabo
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