the dream of cinema becoming (again) a world language has always seemed to me to cover a sadder loss - which language? almost certainly, mainstream narrative well - watch this film and see another way of doing things it's funny, profound, conversational, slow (??? do the other people mean long takes?? the film is not slow at all) and timeless and the colours and the central position of Woman and - yes - the rigour of Sembene make this (still 30 years on) a landmark of world cinema and so light a man with trousers of fat should not stand close to the fire right