In the shared courtyard of a house in Mali's capital, two interlocking trials take place, one describes the disintegration of a couple's marriage, the other the inept and deceitful policies of the World Bank and the IMF; but as pleas for common sense and decency swirl through the building, the simple necessity of life continues to dominate the communal courtyard. Both a beautifully observed drama and a keenly knowing satire, Bamako is an eminently watchable piece of modern African cinema.