The plot is somewhat slow to develop, due to some extended dialog scenes in the beginning of the film. These scenes serve a purpose however, setting the pace and flavor of the place and period portrayed. The characterizations in the film were both stereotypical and surprising. The Imam, the Hunter-Hero, the dispossessed Heir, the new Heir, there are all standard character types, but each is treated a little differently than one might expect.
Especially odd is the Hunter-Hero, who is often analogous to the cowboy in the American Western film (rides in from the wild, solves the problem, rides off into the wild again) is treated very differently. The Imam is a bit typecast from the beginning. The physical appearance of the actor makes it clear that the Imam will be cast as a villain very early in the film. Finally, the heir never redeems himself, but simply fades out of the scene, returning in the background, but never as a person who affects the plot in any real way.
The only scene in the film that caused me any real concern was the scene where Madior Fatim Fall is sitting in the church. The white priest has what is apparently a vision of the future, with many African priests, and what seems to be the white priest laying in a coffin. It goes so quickly that I wasn't sure what has happening, except the possibility that the priest was seeing a vision of himself as a saint, preserved from corruption, for converting all the Africans. Because it is a rather jarring jump to modern times, by the time I had really recovered from my surprise, the scene was already fading back into original setting.
Especially odd is the Hunter-Hero, who is often analogous to the cowboy in the American Western film (rides in from the wild, solves the problem, rides off into the wild again) is treated very differently. The Imam is a bit typecast from the beginning. The physical appearance of the actor makes it clear that the Imam will be cast as a villain very early in the film. Finally, the heir never redeems himself, but simply fades out of the scene, returning in the background, but never as a person who affects the plot in any real way.
The only scene in the film that caused me any real concern was the scene where Madior Fatim Fall is sitting in the church. The white priest has what is apparently a vision of the future, with many African priests, and what seems to be the white priest laying in a coffin. It goes so quickly that I wasn't sure what has happening, except the possibility that the priest was seeing a vision of himself as a saint, preserved from corruption, for converting all the Africans. Because it is a rather jarring jump to modern times, by the time I had really recovered from my surprise, the scene was already fading back into original setting.