Fictional account of a village in the West African nation of Mali overtaken by extreme jihadist law – no smoking, no music, playing football is punishable by 20 lashes, etc. – and the peaceful herder living with his family on its desert outskirts who must avenge the slaughter of his beloved cow, ‘GPS.’ Good intentions, surface beauty, and equal doses of guilt and social significance were enough to earn it a best foreign film nomination, but neither story raises enough interest to warrant a narrative of its own, and there’s even less justification for them once they're cut together. Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako (Bamako), who oddly enough comes off best with occasional bits of unexpected comedy, like the rehearsal of a young recruit for a terrorist video. With: Ibrahim Ahmed, Toulou Kiki, and Abel Jafri. (2014) — Scott Marks
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