Hyenas

Hyenas (Hyènes)
Djibril Diop Mambéty, Senegal, 1992, Color, 110’

Poor but proud citizens of a small town get excited when they learn that an influential old lady comes to visit. The lady is told to be “much richer than the World Bank”. Would she help the town to prosper? But this guest that they welcome with treats and compliments is there for the revenge for a painful event she cannot forget, and she will share her fortune only in return for an unexpected action. The ironical moral tale has surprising twists. The dilemmas of the protagonists are thought provoking for the audience as well. This parable presented with glamorous but imaginary African sets and costumes is surprisingly an adaptation from Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play entitled “The Visit” (Der Besuch der alten Dame).