Timbuktu was once a haven of culture in northern Mali—a vibrant city rich in tradition and abuzz with the music, art, and sports of its people. But then a new regime of religious fundamentalists came to power and stripped the citizens of Timbuktu of their most basic pleasures, prohibiting everything from football to tea and cigarettes. Living in the dunes, just outside the city, cattle farmer Kidane and his family are spared the chaos going on within the walls, until he runs afoul of the law following an incident involving one of his cows and a local fisherman. Stirring and tragically complex, it’s hard not to be mesmerized by director Abderrahmane Sissako’s vibrantly beautiful drama, an award winner at Cannes and a nominee for Best Foreign Language film at last year’s Oscars.