Hyènes is a 1992 Senegalese comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 adaptation of the Swiss-German satirical play, "The Visit

The Visit

The Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...

", directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty

Djibril Diop Mambéty

Djibril Diop Mambéty was a Senegalese film director, actor, orator, composer and poet. Though he made only a small number of films, they received international acclaim for their original and experimental cinematic technique and non-linear, unconventional narrative style. Born to a Muslim family...

. The intimate story of love and revenge parallels a critique of neocolonialism

Neocolonialism

Neocolonialism is the practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural forces to control a country in lieu of direct military or political control...

 and African consumerism. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival

1992 Cannes Film Festival

- Jury :*Gérard Depardieu *John Boorman *Carlo Di Palma *Jamie Lee Curtis *Joële Van Effenterre *Lester James Peries *Nana Djordjadze *Pedro Almodóvar *René Cleitman...

.

Plot

Hyènes (Hyenas) tells the story of Linguere Ramatou, an aging, wealthy woman who revisits her home village of Colobane. Linguere offers a disturbing proposition to the people of Colobane and lavishes luxuries upon them to persuade them. This embittered woman, "as rich as the World Bank", will bestow upon Colobane a fortune in exchange for the murder of Dramaan Drameh, a local shopkeeper who abandoned her after a love affair and her illegitimate pregnancy when she was 16.

Cast

• Ami Diakhate - Linguere Ramatou
• Djibril Diop Mambéty
  Djibril Diop Mambéty
  Djibril Diop Mambéty was a Senegalese film director, actor, orator, composer and poet. Though he made only a small number of films, they received international acclaim for their original and experimental cinematic technique and non-linear, unconventional narrative style. Born to a Muslim family...
  
  
• Mansour Diouf - Dramaan Drameh
• Calgou Fall - The Priest
• Faly Gueye - Mme. Drameh
• Mamadou Mahourédia Gueye - The Mayor
• Issa Ramagelissa Samb - The Professor

Critical Response

Critical response to the film was mostly positive. Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 reported that 69% of critics gave the film positive reviews based upon a sample of 159, with an average

Weighted mean

The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...

 score of 3.7 out of 5. Hyènes was nominated for the Golden Palm award at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival

1992 Cannes Film Festival

- Jury :*Gérard Depardieu *John Boorman *Carlo Di Palma *Jamie Lee Curtis *Joële Van Effenterre *Lester James Peries *Nana Djordjadze *Pedro Almodóvar *René Cleitman...

.

• "A timeless story...The strong story line and fine ensemble acting provide a faster, more easily assimilated rhythm than many African films." - Variety
• "This pungent film adaptation's change of locale lends the tale a new political dimension...(Mambety) inflects the grim drama with an edge of carnival humor. This film carries a sting!" - New York Times
• "This wicked tale, told with wit and irony, has all the ingredients of a crowd-pleaser." - The Village Voice
• "Funnier and warmer than Dürrenmatt ever dared to be but with the tale's bleak, ominous edges still in evidence." - New York Newsday