Timbuktu (2014)

Sissako films the occupation of Timbuktu by jihadists with a patience that makes the absurdity of imposed fundamentalism feel both mundane and devastating. A man is told he cannot smoke, cannot play music, cannot play football. The camera watches from a distance, as if documenting something that should not need to be documented. The violence arrives quietly and leaves a crater. The structure holds because Sissako refuses to editorialize — the images do all the arguing.