"Souleymane Cissé's Brightness evokes the ancient Bambara culture of Mali (formerly French Sudan) well before its 16th century invasion by Morocco. In this luminous film that is equal parts creation myth and Oedipal reality, a young man arrives at the crossroads between childhood and adulthood. As he begins to fathom the mysteries of nature-or Komo, science of the gods-his father cruelly prevents him from deciphering the elements of the Bambara sacred rites. After his mother rescues him and sends him away on a heroic journey, the boy masters the tribe's initiation rites and ascends the Bambara throne, wielding the sceptre-like Kore to confront his father. A local drama with universal themes, Brightness is no mere coming-of-age story, but an anatomy of social responsibility. It is also the most beautifully photographed African film ever." New York Film Festival '87