(Heremakono). A man buries a radio in the sand, then walks into the desert carrying only a tire; a woman gives singing lessons to a young girl with a throaty, otherworldly voice; a group of women and men smoke, chat, and flirt. There’s nothing fast-paced about Waiting for Happiness. Instead, Sissako’s film builds slowly with a series of rich, spellbinding images set in and around Nouadhibou, a seaside town that’s a sort of West African cultural crossroads. Sissako’s narrative approach is to focus on a handful of characters, and while the film’s examination of time and place—the pull of home, the desire for change, the agony of departure—is certainly deep, the experience isn’t heavy, but rather a gentle, quiet meditation. It’s an incredible portrait of a world on the sidelines of society yet on the brink of major change, and it’s likely among the most visually arresting films you’ll see all year.

—Kurt Wolff, S.F. Int’l Film Festival 2003

• Written by Sissako. Photographed by Jacques Besse. With Khatra Ould Abdel Kader, Mataa Ould Mohamed Abeid, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed, Nana Diakité. (95 mins, In French with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From New Yorker Films)