Brightness

A young warrior/seer must overcome an all-powerful enemy—his own father—in order to gain the knowledge of the ancients in this visionary reimagining of the creation myths and oral tales of Western Africa’s Mandé empires. Set in the thirteenth century, it’s as recognizably modern as any George Lucas epic—and arguably more visually inventive. The extraordinary visuals have been called “a timeless equivalent of science fiction”; however, “in Cissé’s African vision of science fiction, the future lies inevitably in the past” (Manthia Diawara). “Not only the most beautifully photographed African film ever, but also the best African film ever made” (Elliot Stein, Film Comment).