Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
A wealthy woman returns to the village that expelled her decades earlier and offers its residents a troubling bargain.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
After becoming immensely wealthy abroad, Linguère Ramatou returns to impoverished Colobane, the village that expelled her when she was young and pregnant. She offers the residents a fortune in exchange for the death of shopkeeper Dramaan Drameh, who betrayed her.
Why it belongs
Hyenas reimagines Dürrenmatt's bargain as a vibrant African parable of debt, consumer desire, communal corruption, and one woman's theatrical return.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
Ami Diakhate's Linguère and Mansour Diouf's Dramaan hold revenge against weary recognition. A golden prosthesis, yellow costumes, trains, town meetings, imported goods, animals, and stylized processions make wealth visibly contagious.
Major award wins
No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.
Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Good for
Film Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.
Institutional reference ranks
Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score
Great Cinema Master List scores
Greatness8.7
Engagement8.4
Ease8.1
Wolof / French · Not Rated Narrative Feature Mood: Funny & Bittersweet
