Not a nature documentary , drama with English subtitles
Panola Man | 02/17/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The title can be misleading. I found it listed with science and nature documentaries. However, it is an unrated drama and so it was not what I expected. This film is in color and runs 61 minutes. The dialogue is in French and Bambara with English subtitles.If you are interested in African culture you may find it more entertaining than I did."
Visually Beautiful
Maria | Plantation, FL | 05/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Abderrahmane Sissako, a Mauritanian filmmaker living in France, makes visually poignant and beautiful films about his homeland. The film style is slow moving. This allows you to be slowly drawn into the beauty of this strange world.
The review that gave this film 3 stars was because Amazon miscategorized it in science and nature documentaries.
If you are looking for a film that displays the strange and often elusive beauty of Africa, I would highly recommend this one or any of Sissako's other films."
A day in the life of Sokolo
Panola Man | Bethesda, MD USA | 02/04/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Life on Earth" is a wondrously lyrical wandering through the lives of people in Sokolo, Sissako, Mali. In order to fully appreciate it, one needs to know beforehand that there is no story line. We meet a number of people, and get to "know" them a bit as they go through the day.....and some, we never know (e.g., the group of men who walk into town). This is a film to be savored, again and again, for the outstanding cinematography and sense of place and time. Little touches such as the inexorable movement of the sun that causes a group of men to move their chairs closer to a shading wall, and again closer, are truly remarkable. Keep this one on your wish list and grab it when it once again becomes affordable!"