Kirikou and the Sorceress

Movie Information

In Brief: There are modest pleasures to be found in French animator Michel Ocelot's Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998), but viewers who are not especially interested in French animation or African folklore (as filtered through the filmmaker's vision) may find its pleasures a little too modest. The film recounts the story of Kirikou, who is born — actually, he demands to be born — with something like adult mental faculties. He's more than precocious and in infancy sets himself against an evil sorceress who is terrorizing his village.  Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present Kirikou and the Sorceress Friday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District (upstairs in the Railroad Library).  Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com
Score:

Genre: Animated Folklore
Director: Michel Ocelot
Starring: (Voices) Doudou Gueye Thiaw, Maimouna N'Diaye, Awa Sene Sarr
Rated: NR

kirikou

 

Though it was apparently a hit in France — and has spawned two sequels — Michel Ocelot’s animated Kirikou and the Sorceress predictably made very little impact in the U.S. The best way to describe the film is to say that it’s the kind of movie that plays — and wins prizes — at small, often specialized film festivals that you’ve probably never heard of. The audience for such films is small, but often rabidly devoted to them — frequently to the point of overkill from an outsider’s perspective. What they see is some kind of masterpiece. I confess what I see is a moderately clever little movie with flat, somewhat crude animation and occasionally appealing backgrounds that resemble Rousseau paintings.

 

kirikou2

 

Part of the appeal seems to lie in the African folklore aspect of the film, and the fact that it takes a kind of National Geographic approach to the character’s lack of clothing. (Grown men, however, are of the waist-up variety.) The accuracy of the folklore is open to question — and it’s not a question I’m sufficiently invested in to try to answer. Maybe I’m jaded by my recent exposure to Werner Herzog’s Where the Green Ants Dream (1984), where Herzog completely fabricated Aborigine mythology and presented the whole thing as anthropological. In any case, the film recounts the story of Kirikou, who is born talking, questioning and generally doing things not normally associated with infants. The crux of the story depicts his dealing with a sorceress who is bedeviling his tribe — or so it seems. Perhaps the most interesting part of all this is that it ultimately works like a precursor to the modern mania for backstories that explain why villains are mostly just misunderstood.

 Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present Kirikou and the Sorceress Friday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District (upstairs in the Railroad Library).  Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com

SHARE
About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.