---
title: "Yeelen: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/yeelen/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/yeelen"
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Yeelen (1987): what the critics said

Critics' score 81 from 7 reviews: 6 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

The reviews lean firmly positive. Nearly every critic writes first about how the film looks: the light, the fire, the landscape of Cissé’s Mali, and imagery built from simple means that most find haunting rather than merely handsome. Several also find more than pictures in it, pointing to the story of a father’s abuse of power and the cost of his son’s resistance, and to the sense of a world that moves in cycles. The nonprofessional cast draws specific praise for its sly humour and quiet dignity, and for character relationships that carry as much weight as the visuals.

Where critics hesitate, it is over accessibility. Empire warns that the storytelling and symbolism may be hard going for audiences outside Africa, and the Los Angeles Times allows that it will not be for everyone. Sight and Sound takes the opposite view, finding it compelling despite its culturally specific material. The spread is narrow: six of seven reviews are positive, one is mixed, none is negative, and no critic argues the film fails on its own terms.

## Los Angeles Times — SHEILA BENSON

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 August 1988. 

Benson finds the film haunting and ravishingly beautiful, though she notes it may not appeal to everyone. She especially praises the nonprofessional actors’ sly humor and self-effacing nobility.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-18-ca-615-story.html)

## The New Yorker

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 

The critic calls the film a masterwork, praising its imaginative visual artistry. They also highlight its political focus on patriarchal abuse and the cost of resistance.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/yeelen)

## Sight and Sound

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2025. 

The critic finds the film accessible and compelling despite its culturally specific subject matter. They praise how its vivid imagery is matched by nuanced performances and character relationships.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/souleymane-cisses-yeelen-reviewed-1988)

## Empire — David Parkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 July 2006. 

Parkinson views the film as an ambitious, optimistic work, though its storytelling and symbolism can be difficult for non-African audiences. He particularly praises its imaginative vision of light, fire, tradition and landscape.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/yeelen-review/)

## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez

Rating 4/5. 21 September 2003. 

Gonzalez gives the film a strongly positive review, calling it a wondrous and deeply resonant work. He singles out Cissé’s simple yet powerful imagery and his evocation of a cyclical cosmos.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/yeelen/)

## Time Out — WH

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review presents the film as luminous and beautiful. It singles out the film’s setting among the Bambara peoples of Cissé’s Mali homeland.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/yeelen)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 14 April 1989. 

The page does not expose the critic’s verdict. It provides no accessible details about what the critic praised or criticized.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/14/movies/a-stone-s-magical-light.html)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/yeelen.md