Another film I was fortunate to watch thanks to my son taking some college courses on cinema. On first viewing, I wondered if this were based on a book. The film is rich in detail that remind me of a director having a hard time winnowing down a detailed novel to fit in a two-hour show.
Reading some reviews afterwards, that abundance of detail I think pulled the narrative threads apart for some viewers. Or for others, like myself, it gave the film a stylized poetic feel.
There is of course a simple narrative, the beach-side picnic is a going away party for most of the family leaving to head north. So there are plenty of juxtapositions of old and new. A variety of faiths commingle, not always freely and easily. There are tales of dying (the Ibo Landing) and dyeing - hand-making indigo. Nana, the grand matriarch stands out for many reasons, including how her deep blue dress contrasts with the others in their starched and frilly lighter wear. Costumes (and hair) are pretty and remarkable. Catalog wish-fests, bottle trees, okra horns, kaleidoscopes - visual design throughout is commanding.
There is another dream-like vibe running (literally) through the film as an unborn daughter narrates and sprints along the shoreline through forests and even perplexes a friendly photographer brought along to document this day for the family. That was like a brief flash of magic vs science. The daughter (blue ribbon in her hair by the way) herself drives one subplot of love vs sexual violence.
While the movie felt like a book in its breadth, some of the dialog felt more akin to the theater. That too may have pushed some away, and to be clear I am not talking about the Gullah dialect, that was more a fascinating flavor to the film. Felt like one's ear picks up enough, instead it's the delivery was often strident and rigid. Blame it on the faiths colliding perhaps?
Anyways this is a momentous day, despite the lessons and cooking in the dunes, the dancing by the sea, ladies talking in trees and the fascinating sort of martial arts between two of the male characters. This day is an end of an era, a complicated era of triumph and pain, but I think the message is that an essence persists wherever one travels. And the essence of many flows in the wake of one.
An ambitious film for sure. In a way, it reminded me of the more recent "This is not a Burial, This is a Resurrection." I'll admit I did not know about the Ibo (or in searching I see "Igbo") Landing. For a while watching the movie, I almost wondered if the people there were outside of time. The ghosts from the Landing, existing beyond the slave ship in and the family boat ride out. Could just be a cinematic splinter for me, and remembering "Picnic at Hanging Rock. Unless I'm accidentally tapping into Jordan Peele's next surreal horror social commentary blockbuster?
Reading some reviews afterwards, that abundance of detail I think pulled the narrative threads apart for some viewers. Or for others, like myself, it gave the film a stylized poetic feel.
There is of course a simple narrative, the beach-side picnic is a going away party for most of the family leaving to head north. So there are plenty of juxtapositions of old and new. A variety of faiths commingle, not always freely and easily. There are tales of dying (the Ibo Landing) and dyeing - hand-making indigo. Nana, the grand matriarch stands out for many reasons, including how her deep blue dress contrasts with the others in their starched and frilly lighter wear. Costumes (and hair) are pretty and remarkable. Catalog wish-fests, bottle trees, okra horns, kaleidoscopes - visual design throughout is commanding.
There is another dream-like vibe running (literally) through the film as an unborn daughter narrates and sprints along the shoreline through forests and even perplexes a friendly photographer brought along to document this day for the family. That was like a brief flash of magic vs science. The daughter (blue ribbon in her hair by the way) herself drives one subplot of love vs sexual violence.
While the movie felt like a book in its breadth, some of the dialog felt more akin to the theater. That too may have pushed some away, and to be clear I am not talking about the Gullah dialect, that was more a fascinating flavor to the film. Felt like one's ear picks up enough, instead it's the delivery was often strident and rigid. Blame it on the faiths colliding perhaps?
Anyways this is a momentous day, despite the lessons and cooking in the dunes, the dancing by the sea, ladies talking in trees and the fascinating sort of martial arts between two of the male characters. This day is an end of an era, a complicated era of triumph and pain, but I think the message is that an essence persists wherever one travels. And the essence of many flows in the wake of one.
An ambitious film for sure. In a way, it reminded me of the more recent "This is not a Burial, This is a Resurrection." I'll admit I did not know about the Ibo (or in searching I see "Igbo") Landing. For a while watching the movie, I almost wondered if the people there were outside of time. The ghosts from the Landing, existing beyond the slave ship in and the family boat ride out. Could just be a cinematic splinter for me, and remembering "Picnic at Hanging Rock. Unless I'm accidentally tapping into Jordan Peele's next surreal horror social commentary blockbuster?