The arrival of the Islamic State in the ancient city of Timbuktu signals the end to a long-established way of life, where the simplicity of the residents' daily existence is thrown increasingly into turmoil as the improvised courts issue increasingly absurd - and dangerous - sentences. Timbuktu is especially relevant in light of the recent terrorist attacks, but writer-director Abderrahmane Sissako is far more interested in nuance than he is in rendering the Islamic State in simplistic terms of evil. That said, their actions represent the banality of evil at its worst, as the punishments they mete out for minor offences - smoking, playing football, listening to music - become increasingly severe. Timbuktu is a rich movie which somehow encompasses many aspects of life, and there are some truly poetic moments, for instance a scene in which boys play football with a non-existent ball. Ultimately, of course, it's a tragic tale in which misguided religious purity transmogrifies into horrific extremism.
