Islamic jihadists have taken over Timbuktu and the surrounding area. They have forbidden music, dancing, cigarettes, football and many other things. Women are ordered to wear gloves and socks in public. Nomadic cattle herder Kidane lives with his wife Satima, daughter Toya, and son Issan. Many of his neighbors have left. Issan leads the family herd to the river. His favorite cow gets tangled in the fisherman's net. The fisherman kills it. Issan goes home crying. Kidane without all the facts go to confront the fisherman and kills him after a heated exchange. Kidane is brought to the court. The jihadists are not from the area and language difference is a constant barrier. The jihadi commander hides his own infractions while using religion to justify his orders.
If anything, this movie is not hard enough on the Jihadists. A lot of the movie is played for sly humor. The most obvious one is the people playing football without the ball while the Jihadists are not there. It is a slightly different way to poke fun at religious rule. Kidane does pose a problem. He is very much in the wrong in the argument. What he does is classified as homicide in almost everywhere. So the religious court doesn't come off as being unreasonable. Kidane needs to be innocent for the audience to see the court as being dictatorial and inherently unfair.
If anything, this movie is not hard enough on the Jihadists. A lot of the movie is played for sly humor. The most obvious one is the people playing football without the ball while the Jihadists are not there. It is a slightly different way to poke fun at religious rule. Kidane does pose a problem. He is very much in the wrong in the argument. What he does is classified as homicide in almost everywhere. So the religious court doesn't come off as being unreasonable. Kidane needs to be innocent for the audience to see the court as being dictatorial and inherently unfair.