Friday, February 18
Life on Earth
dir. Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritania/France 1998

Set in Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world and a place far removed from the twentieth century, Mr. Sissako's entry into the 2000 SEEN BY... series is a moving meditation on the state of Africa. A semi-documentary, the film has Mr. Sissako going back to Sokolo, Mali from France to see his father for New Year's Eve 1999. In Sokolo, he and his father listen to the millennial celebrations in Paris over the radio, just about the only piece of the modern world to be found in the village. Thoughtful, beautiful, and sad, Abderrahmane Sissako's film is a truly unique and profound take on the beginning of the new millennium. - Rotten Tomatoes