Banel and Adama are fiercely in love. The young married couple lives in a remote village in northern Senegal. For them, nothing else exists except each other. But for the rest of their tight-knit village, duty dictates that Adama soon accept the role of chief. The two lovers have their own plans… until something in the air changes. The rains do not come, the cattle begin to die, the men leave. The curse weighs on Adama’s sense of duty, and the chasm between them drives Banel into a feverish, mystical chaos.

A rare debut feature that premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and Senegal’s official submission to the 96th Academy Awards®, Banel & Adama is a lush and lyrical West African dreamscape, a tragic romance that soars to the heights of longing and descends deep into the realm of myth as it sets its protagonists’ perfect everlasting love on a collision course with their community’s traditions.

For more in-depth thoughts on Banel & Adama, please see my colleague Phoenix Clouden’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Banel & Adama comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is truly stunning. Although this takes place largely in an arid desert village filled with sand and dirt, this is a visually sumptuous film with striking shots of the environment throughout which you can see incredible detail. The transfer reveals the distinct grittiness of the sand and rocks with immense clarity. The film is not replete with vivid colors in every frame, but the subtlety in the earth tones on display makes the landscapes distinct. The highlights are handled beautifully, along with the intensely deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from compression artifacts. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around including dust that gathers and perspiration. This presentation is a very strong representation of the film.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in the original Pulaar that is surprisingly powerful given the contained nature of the narrative. The sound design is just as precisely executed as the visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really active soundscape of nature. This is not a particularly kinetic film, but activity in the low end is effective when a sandstorm rolls in. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being lost to the sound effects or the music. This is an impressive release that brings the movie to life in a really immediate way. Optional English subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Q&A with Director Ramata-Toulaye Sy: A terrific 28-minute conversation with director Ramata-Toulaye Sy conducted with Film At Lincoln Center in which the filmmaker delves into what she wanted to accomplish with this film, the visual motifs at play, interpretations of the ending, the shooting locations, the score, deeper meanings behind the words, and more.

Trailer: The minute-and-a-half-long trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Banel & Adama is a complex and worthwhile debut from Ramata-Toulaye Sy, who establishes herself as someone who needs to be on your radar in the future. The young filmmaker attempts to push the boundaries of traditional African cinema without rebuking the culture inherent to this story. The characters are multi-faceted and leave audiences reckoning with morally ambiguous developments. These individuals are brought to life beautifully by captivating performances complemented by gorgeous cinematography. This love story is equally invigorating and heartbreaking, and we love wrestling with all the nuances within that space. Kino Lorber has provided a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and an in-depth supplemental feature. This journey is worth taking if the film sounds even remotely interesting to you. Recommended

Banel & Adama will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on August 6, 2024.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Lorber has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.