Review: "Banel & Adama"

A capable, often visually striking feature directorial debut from Ramata-Toulaye Sy.

For all the changes over the years that the Oscar category for Best International Feature has gone through, from eligibility to name changes, one thing that has sadly remained consistent is African cinema being heavily overlooked. Throughout the award’s 74-year history, only three African films have claimed the Best International Feature prize.

However, recent shortlisted entries like Mami Wata from Nigeria, Mati Diop’s Atlantics, and the newly released Banel & Adama, last season’s Senegalese entry, make a strong case for AMPAS, which is becoming more expansive when it comes to embracing international cinema, to expand their horizons even more.

Khady Mane and Mamadou Diallo star as the titular lovers in Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s “Banel & Adama.” (Courtesy of Kino Lorber)

Directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy, who made history last year as the second Black woman after Mati Diop to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Banel & Adama is an intriguing molding of spirituality and realism centering on a romance between two people doomed by the customs of their village. Initially blissfully love-struck, Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo) see their relationship change drastically once Adama refuses his preordained title as the village leader.

Since Adama renounced his title, the village sees occurrences such as drought and death in livestock, putting the story’s spiritual nature into play as the viewer ponders whether the couple breaking social norms results in forces from above interfering with human life. Also, mostly through Banel’s arc, we see the psychological toll taken on the titular lovers. With just her face, Khady Mane channels Banel’s steely reserve that struggles to mask her swiftly shattered spirit. Similarly, thanks to the meticulous screenplay by Ramata-Toulaye Sy, details of Banel’s changing routine, including her targeting small animals with a slingshot, tell enough of a harrowing story about her fragile headspace.

Meanwhile, leading actor Mamadou Diallo excels as Adama who, compared to the more defiant Banel, is gradually torn between his birthright and wanting to follow his heart. Both Mane and Diallo are a capable, transcendent acting duo in what is also a strong visual showcase. One moment of striking flair that sticks out involves Banel sitting alone in a small tent shrouded in darkness, symbolizing her physical and mental isolation. On-the-nose as it may be, thanks to the camera work by DP Amine Berrada, it still serves as a memorable, otherworldly-looking image within a film that captures a lush landscape.

Although there is an overuse of overhead shots of the empty landscape, the film still shows how Ramate-Toulaye Sy has a keen visual filmmaking eye. Furthermore, thanks to the central performances and how the story serves as a simultaneous meditation on spirituality and psychological drama, Sy has promise as both a storyteller and actor’s director. Here’s hoping the wait for her sophomore feature won’t be too long.

Grade: B+

Banel & Adama is being released this weekend at Film Forum in NYC.