The Spirit of Mopti

Mopti, Mali's port town on the river Niger, is known as 'the Venice of Africa'. This engaging, documentary-style Franco-Malian drama follows a number of local traders and farmers to examine how long established traditions have knitted together a cohesive society. We see dried fish coming in for barter from upriver, a cattle herder on his way to better pastures, a Mopti porter kept busy by the to and fro of the thronging marketplace; and although conditions are rudimentary by Western standards, it's easy to sense the ingrained resilience with which these people get on with their lives. The film-makers never force the point, leaving the weathered faces and uproarious laughter to do the talking.