Tilaï
Directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso,

1990. 81 minutes. In Mooré with English subtitles.

Source: New Yorker Films

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes 1990, director Ouedraogo's follow-up to the widely fêted Yaaba is a moving tale of honor and family ties on the plains of Burkina Faso. The story follows a man who returns home after two years to be told that his fiancée has been married off to his father. Secretly, the young man resumes his relationship with his new step-mother despite the fact that this incestuous liaison is punishable by death. Once discovered, the lovers narrowly escape to try to live happily ever after, and would were it not for ya tilaï, or code of honor. As in his earlier film Yaaba, Ouedraogo contrasts the lively villages of his homeland with the empty open plains, painting all in gorgeous earth-colored hues and composing each scene without contrivance. The marvelous warm and relaxed performances are perfectly complemented by the sparse and poignant score of the great jazz musician, Abdullah Ibrahim.

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