There are few characters more unsettling in cinema – or theatre, or literature for that matter – than a single-minded woman determined to shape her own destiny at any cost. It shouldn’t be so, obviously. Why can’t a woman exhibit the same drive and ruthlessness as her male counterparts? But as Anatomy of a Fall demonstrated, a strong, self-interested female character tends to be viewed by society (and by extension, the audience) as inherently suspect. In the case of Banel (a knockout performance from the mesmerising Khady Mane), the besotted wife of Adama (Mamadou Diallo), that suspicion is justified.
The Pulaar-language feature debut from French-Senegalese film-maker Ramata-Toulaye Sy, Banel & Adama has a sparse, fable-like quality and poisonous, creeping momentum. Dealing with a passionate love that tips into something darker, the story unfolds in a Senegalese rural community in which gender roles are firmly inscribed and tradition is a guiding force in the lives of the villagers.
Even at the very start of the film, when the sun smiles on the devoted love between Banel and her husband of one year, there are indications that she is different. She rejects traditional scarves and wears her hair defiantly uncovered; she prefers the man’s work of herding cattle alongside Adama to the women’s field work and laundry. And, as several lizards learn to their cost, there’s a violence lurking in her heart. Banel’s will is fearsome, but when a drought strikes, she finds herself facing up against the might of the natural world. Tragedy is inevitable, but the poetry of Sy’s vision is fresh and distinctive.