If you're looking to see a mythic quest about a boy who, struggling to become a man, travels throughout his country, taking on quests and facing difficulties while searching out his father, Yeelen is a good candidate. If you're looking for all of this within the context of Hollywood western life, complete with explosions, a fight scene, love affairs, and something scandalous and otherwise unnecessary, then go see something fresh out of Hollywood. No, this is not a film made in the western tradition as a previous comment harped upon, but made in the national cinema.

Made in 1987 by a French film crew in Mali, Yeelen (or "Brightness") is a composition of old Mali myths put together to create a mythic quest of Nianankoro, a boy who travels to a distant uncle to find the second piece of the fabled Kore's Wing, needed to defeat his father who is set of taking his son's life. Throughout his journey, Nianankoro faces the daunting challenges of hunger and thirst, battling tribes, leopard-prophets, his father's wrath, and then his own final battle which eventually causes his death.

Yeelen is primarily an art film which represents an important part of Mali mythology and culture with subtle political undertones. By entering this film and judging it with the idea that it is a "western movie," you will surely not enjoy it. Instead, enter it with an open mind. Dump all preconceptions of Hollywood, open yourself to international film, and enjoy the power messages that Yeelen sets upon myth, culture, and art.

If absolutely nothing else, "Yeelen" offers a look at a society that we in the west don't often get to see. In this case, it's the Bambara people of Mali; the movie also includes the Dogon and Fulani. Having taken a sociology-anthropology class, I already knew about them. The plot centers on a warrior having to battle an evil sorcerer who is also his father.

I should identify that this is not a movie for people with short attention spans: the action moves along very slowly. But don't worry. Despite how it takes a long time for everything to happen, you feel like you've gotten a lot out of the movie. Above all, I like to see how Africans view themselves as opposed to how we in the west view them. So I certainly recommend this movie.

Souleymane Cisse's groundbreaking feature makes no concessions to Western attitudes or tastes, but why should it? It's a truly African experience, made from a totally native perspective and set in a timeless, pre-colonial landscape, where sorcery and enchantment are merely extensions of natural law. The story unfolds in the epic tradition of true mythology, with the young son of a despotic tribal magician embarking on a fabulous quest for wisdom and enlightenment, which in the end will not only bring him face to face with his powerful father but usher him into manhood as well. There's a genuine sense of discovery to the film, both for its visionary depiction of Bambara tribal folklore, and also in the thrill of witnessing a local African production break into the international arena. Unlike other examples of Third World cinema this is no simple, primitive anthropology lesson, but a handsome, sophisticated motion picture every bit as luminous as the title suggests.