Review: "THE BOOK OF CLARENCE" - Black is Beautiful and So is Enlightenment

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 of 2024 (No. 1947) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Book of Clarence (2024)

Running time:  129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for strong violence, drug use, strong language, some suggestive material, and smoking

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jeymes Samuel

PRODUCERS:  Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), James Lassiter, Tendo Nagenda, and Jeymes Samuel

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Rob Hardy (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Tom Eagles

COMPOSER:  Jeymes Samuel

COMEDY/DRAMA/RELIGION

Starring:  LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Chase Dillon,  Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, and Nicholas Pinnock

The Book of Clarence is a 2024 comedy-drama and religious film written and directed by Jeymes Samuel.  The film focuses on a wayward man who decides to capitalize on the rise of Jesus by also declaring himself to be “the Messiah.”

The Book of Clarence opens in Lower Jerusalem, the home of the “Gypsies,” in the year 33 A.D, and it introduces a young man named Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield).  He is down-on-his-luck and is drifting in life.  He spends time selling weed with his close friend and sidekick, Elijah (RJ Cyler).  Their latest scheme is a chariot race against Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor), which goes disastrously bad.  In turn, that puts Clarence and Elijah deep in debt to a local crime boss, Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi Abrefa), who threatens their lives if he isn't paid in 30 days.

Meanwhile, Clarence's twin brother, Thomas (LaKeith Stanfield), is one of the 12 Apostles that follow Jesus of Nazareth (Nicholas Pinnock).  After failing to make inroads with his brother's associates, Clarence decides to capitalize on Jesus and the rise of messianic figures by declaring himself “the Messiah.”  Clarence does not believe in the existence of God, but he finds success by preaching “knowledge over belief.”  Soon, Clarence has a large number of followers, and they are making him wealthy.  But then, something happens...

The Book of Clarence is not as partisan as Mel Gibson's 2004 masterpiece, The Passion of the Christ, nor is it Black-centric and anti-racist in the way director Jean-Claude La Marre's The Color of the Cross (2006) is.  In The Book of Clarence, Jesus is a Black man, but the narrative isn't really about Jesus being black.  The people of Jerusalem are black, but that just seems to be the way it is supposed to be – nothing special or deliberate.  Also, I don't think the film ever refers to them as Jews or Hebrews (as far as I can remember).

The Book of Clarence's plot and themes, which are soft and muddled in the film's middle act, seem to converge on the notion of enlightenment, not the movement “Enlightenment, but as a state of knowledge and understanding.  Clarence, who pushes knowledge over belief, gets the lesson that knowledge without understand is empty, the equivalent of “faith without good works is dead.”  The Book of Clarence unveils these messages and ideas, not with seriousness, but with sly wit and also with subtle digs at oppression, racism, and imperialism – for good measure.

That aside, the thing that most impresses me about The Book of Clarence is that writer-director Jeymes Samuel presents a film in which Black people are so very beautiful and alluring in all their varying dark and brown shades, all the textures and styles of their hair, and all the shapes, contours, and statures of their bodies.  Yet in spite of its allusions to white oppression, as all the Roman characters are white, The Book of Clarence treats having an all-Black cast play the characters in a story set in the time of Jesus as an utterly normal thing.  It's about time; British, Irish, and American actors have been frontin' in Biblical films as if that is an entirely normal thing.  [Even if Jesus was Caucasian, he wasn't white...]

Jeymes Samuel fills his film with outstanding performances, especially LaKeith Stanfield's powerful, eccentric, turn as Clarence.  It is too late in his career to discover Stanfield as a revelation; we been knew he was good.  He makes Clarence's awkward, bumbling, stumbling journey to enlightenment seem like a real, tangible thing.  I feel Clarence's evolution in my head and in my imagination.

Also, David Oyelowo knocks the film on its ass as the back-handing John the Baptist, much the way Alfre Woodard upends notions of Jesus Christ's mother, Mary, as “Mother Mary” later in the film.  Teyana Taylor throws her beauty at us as Mary Magdalene, and Anna Diop digs out the awkward layers of Varinia, Clarence's love-interest.  And RJ Cyler gives a best supporting actor type performance as Clarence's best friend and partner, Elijah.

The Book of Clarence isn't perfect.  Its plot staggers and lurches at times as it moves towards its explosive final act, which is filled with breath-taking miracles and shocking plot twists.  The film apparently was originally scheduled for a  theatrical release in September 2023, but ultimately made its only 2023 appearance via its world premiere at the 67th London Film Festival.  So as fate... or God would have it, The Book of Clarence is the best film of 2024 – thus far.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, January 26, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Riveting "WOMEN TALKING" is a Film That Speaks Directly, Even to Us

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 of 2023 (No. 1908) by Leroy Douresseaux

Women Talking (2022)

Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for mature thematic content including sexual assault, bloody images, and some strong language

DIRECTOR:  Sarah Polley

WRITER:  Sarah Polley (based upon the book by Miriam Toews)

PRODUCERS:  Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Frances McDormand

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Luc Montpellier

EDITORS:  Christopher Donaldson and Roslyn Kalloo

COMPOSER:  Hildur Guðnadottir

Academy Award winner

DRAMA/RELIGION

Starring:  Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, France McDormand, Judith Ivey, Emily Mitchell, Kate Hallet, Liv McNeil, Shelia McCarthy, Michelle McLeod, Kira Guloien, Shayla Brown, Vivien Endicott-Douglas, August Winter, and Ben Whishaw

Women Talking is a 2022 drama film from writer-director Sarah Polley. The film is based on Miriam Towes' 2018 Canadian novel, Women Talking.  Both the film and the novel are inspired by real-life events.  Women Talking the film focuses on a group of women who must decide if they should do nothing, stay and fight, or leave their isolated religious community where sexual abuse of girls and women is common.

Women Talking opens in the year 2010 in an unnamed, isolated Mennonite colony.  The colony's women and girls have discovered that some of the men in the colony have been using livestock tranquilizer to subdue them in order to rape them.  Although other men in the colony have had these attackers arrested and imprisoned in a nearby city, they are also seeking bail for the attackers.

The men have left the women by themselves for two days in order for the women to determine what they will do going forward.  However, the men expect the women to forgive their attackers or be expelled from the colony.  The women gather in a barn to discuss and to vote.  They have a young man named August (Ben Whishaw) sit in the meeting in order to take the minutes.  When he was a boy, Ben's mother was expelled from the colony.  Ben returned to become the colony's sole teacher, but he only teaches the boys because women are not allowed to attend school.

Elders like Agata (Judith Ivey) and Greta (Sheila McCarthy) lead the discussion, but young women like Ona (Rooney Mara), Salome (Claire Foy), Mariche (Jessie Buckley), and Mejal (Michelle McLeod) have strong opinions.  Should the women do nothing... forgive... stay and fight... or leave the colony?  As they grapple with the brutal reality of their faith, the time to decide is running out.

Almost four days out from watching Women Talking, and I find myself still thinking about it, dear readers.  In the wake of the of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, it feels like a supernaturally timely film.  The “Dobbs decision” held that the Constitution of the United States did not confer a right to abortion.  It is just the latest in a more than three-decade assault on women's rights to reproductive freedom and choice.

Women Talking effectively delivers a valuable message.  The women of the Mennonite colony that this film depicts must confront not only the violence against them, but also a religion designed down to its bones to give men all the power over women.  Their faith essentially renders women and girls indentured servants and non-citizens.

I quibble that writer-director Sarah Polley's direction and Oscar-winning screenplay bury the actresses of Women Talking beneath the scenario and story.  There is a lot of genuine talent here, and I wanted to see more of them, in a broader sense, although no one can really keep Rooney Mara from shining.  In a way, however, that is good thing.  The way Polley presents this makes Women Talking as timeless as it is timely.

Women Talking is truly an exceptional and spectacular film because the women at the heart of its story are talking.  What they say crosses over into our real world.  Because what is depicted in this film is real, it matters.  Women Talking is based on something that happened not that long ago, in this century, so women struggling for equality and human rights must keep talking.  And this movie, Women Talking, is entertainment, educational, and hopefully, inspiration for future generations.

9 of 10

A+

★★★★+ out of 4 stars

Thursday, May 4, 2023

NOTES:

2023 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Sarah Polley) and 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, and Frances McDormand – producers)

2023 Golden Globes, USA:  2 nominations: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Hildur Guðnadóttir) and “Best Screenplay-Motion Picture” (Sarah Polley)

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: "AMERICAN JESUS: Revelation #3" Makes the "Left Behind" Series Irrelevant

AMERICAN JESUS: REVELATION #3 (OF 3)

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Peter Gross with Tomm Coker

COLORS: Jeanne McGee with Daniel Freedman

LETTERS: Cory Petit

COVER: Jodie Muir

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2023)

Rated M / Mature

American Jesus created by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

American Jesus is a comic book series created by writer Mark Millar and Peter Gross that is being published as three comic book miniseries.  American Jesus began life as Chosen, a three-issue miniseries that was published by Dark Horse Comics in 2004, and continued in American Jesus: The New Messiah, a three-issue series published by Image Comics in 2019-20.

The series concludes in American Jesus: Revelation, a three-issue series written by Millar; drawn by Gross with Tomm Coker; colored by Jeanne McGee and Daniel Freedman; and lettered by Corey Petit.  The series offers the epic conclusion to the greatest story ever told.

American Jesus: Revelation #3 opens in 1969 at the birth of Jodie Christianson, the Anti-Christ.  Now, he is the President of the United States and is slated to kick of the End of Days.  However, moments after his birth, who really wants the little bastard?

Meanwhile, Catalina, who is the Savior and the Christ-reborn, is an an honest-to-god black woman.  She awaits Jodie in the city of Megiddo.  Will a 2000-year-old prophecy be finally fulfilled?  … Will it be fulfilled the way it is supposed to be fulfilled?

THE LOWDOWN:  Netflix/Millarworld sent me PDF review copies of American Jesus, Vols. 1 and 2.  I had not read them until recently, and I needed to do so in preparation for American Jesus: Revelation.  But nothing could prepare me … really … nothing.

Of course, American Jesus: Revelation #3 does not end the way anyone would think.  This is a Mark Millar comic book, and he won't ever cheat his readers by giving them what they expect.  Remember that incident with Giant-Man/Ant-Man, the Wasp, and a horde of ants in The Ultimates?  [The Ultimates is the “inspiration,” both visually and thematically, for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It is available from Marvel Comics for your reading pleasure in multiple print and digital formats.]

So, in American Jesus: Revelation #3, what has really creeped me out, scared my shitless, and disturbed me is the return of the dead.  I won't give you the hows for fear of spoiling the entire … thing, but after reading those few pages, I felt like I needed a drink, a crack pipe, and a shower.

The lovely Peter Gross brings Millar's … lurid storytelling to life with the skill of a veteran comic book artist blessed with great comic book storytelling chops.  Colorist Jeanne McGee obviously sported a wicked grin while coloring this.  Artist Tomm Coker and colorist Daniel Freedman have contributed to this series and are also guilty in the eyes of God.

I am in awe of Millar's imagination, and I love that he finds the perfect artists to bring his visions to life, as Peter Gross is here.  Seriously, American Jesus: Revelation is delightfully wicked and truly unique.  Once again, Millarworld is like no other world, and we may have to accept it as our paradise.  There is no way we are getting into Heaven after reading and enjoying American Jesus: Revelation #3.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar's comic books and of the American Jesus series must read American Jesus: Revelation.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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Review: "HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL." is Both Funny and Ruthless

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 of 2023 (No. 1891) by Leroy Douresseaux

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul (2022)

Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)

MPA – R for language and some sexual content

DIRECTOR:  Adamma Ebo

WRITER: Adamma Ebo (based on her short film)

PRODUCERS:  Sterling K. Brown, Jessamine Burgum, Matthew R. Cooper, Amandla Crichlow, Kara Durrett, Adanne Ebo, Regina Hall, Daniel Kaluuya, and Rowan Riley

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alan Gwizdowski

EDITORS:  Ali Greer and Stacy Moon

COMPOSER:  Marcus Norris

COMEDY/RELIGION

Starring:  Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown, Nicole Beharie, Conphidance, Austin Crute, Dever Rogers, Robert Yatta, Greta Glenn, and Selah Kimbro Jones

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is a 2022 comedy-drama and mockumentary (mock documentary) film from writer-director Adamma Ebo.  The film is Ebo's directorial debut and is also a feature-length adaptation of Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul, her 2018 short film.  Oscar-winner Jordan Peele is one of the film's executive producers.  Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. the film focuses on the first lady of a megachurch as she attempts to help the pastor of the church rebuild his congregation in the wake of a scandal.

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is largely set in and around Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  The film introduces Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and his wife, the church's “First Lady,” Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall).  Lee-Curtis preaches the “prosperity gospel,” and he and his wife live a lavish lifestyle that is a big as their megachurch.

Once upon a time, Wander to Greater Paths (WGP) had about 25,000 congregants, but Pastor Lee-Curtis became embroiled in a notorious scandal that involves multiple sexual misconduct allegations.  Lee-Curtis and Trinitie were forced to close the church after backlash and a mass exodus of congregants.

Now, a year later, the Childs plan to reopen the church in one month on Easter Sunday.  They have also hired a documentary film crew to chronicle their lives and the preparation during the run-up to the reopening.  However, Trinitie finds the crew and its director, Anita Bonet, to be intrusive.  Also, the Childs struggle to get people interested in their return, so Lee-Curtis comes up with an idea for a roadside ministry, entitled “Honk for Jesus.”  Will that scheme save the church … and the couple's marriage?

Some of you, dear readers, are familiar Pentecostal televangelist (television evangelist), Jimmy Swaggart.  Beginning in 1988, a series of scandals, two of them involving Swaggart's relationship with prostitutes, caused him to lose a significant number of congregants at his megachurch, Family Worship Center, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  His Jimmy Swaggart Bible College also saw a drastic drop in enrollment, largely in part to his 1988 sex scandal.

A former coworker of mine was a devout Christian, and he considered Swaggart to be a hypocrite because of his scandals.  I told him that I did not quite see it that way.  I argued that the most successful evangelical preachers were probably intimately familiar with sin, especially related to sexual activity.  I said that what made Swaggart a hypocrite wasn't him sneaking around for some kind of sexual contact with a prostitute, but rather that he frequently condemned people who were engaged in sexual activity of which he did not approve.  He insisted that other sinners pay a price for sexual improprieties that he clearly did not expect to pay himself.

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is not the greatest mockumentary (which is still This is Spinal Tap), but it is a very good comedy about characters that are difficult when laid bare.  Honk for Jesus. Save You Soul. makes it clear that the Childs, especially Pastor Lee-Curtis, are oblivious and lack self-awareness.  Lee-Curtis condemns those engaged in the same kind of sexual activity which brought him down, and his behavior is also predatory.  It is not just the nature of his sin; it is also that he betrayed the trust of the people who relied on him for help.

Sterling K. Brown shines as Pastor Lee-Curtis, depicting him not as evil, but as narcissistic, vain, and material.  His faith, God, the Bible, and his success are about himself and not about salvation or about “saving souls.”  He collects “saving souls” and congregants seemingly the same way he collects Italian suits and clothing, jewelry, and cars.  Brown deftly conveys to the audience that the reopening of Wander to Great Paths is all about shining on Lee-Curtis and not necessarily on God.

I think the film really turns on Regina Hall's performance, a mixture of comedy, drama, and pathos.  From start to finish, Hall's performance chronicles the difficulty that is Trinitie's mission to save their church.  Although she is known for comedy, Hall shows serious dramatic chops in conveying the ultimate futility of the couple's quest, especially in those painful scenes in which she faces either their detractors or Lee-Curtis' victims.

Mock or faux documentary films are generally comedies, although they have dramatic and poignant moments.  Writer-director Adamma Ebo pulls off the trick of producing a mockumentary that is more drama than comedy.  Getting a great performance from her cast, especially Regina Hall, is what makes Ebo's film highly original and even more substantive than mockumentary films generally are.  My take is that Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is both a portrayal of a corrupted megachurch pastor and first lady and also a commentary on the megachurches that pedal the prosperity gospel.

Mockumentary films generally always seem to be a tad bit longer than they need to be, and they are at their best in their first acts.  The best energy in Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is in its second half, especially its last act.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: "AMERICAN JESUS: Revelation #2" - It's a Sin to Be This Kind of Good...

AMERICAN JESUS: REVELATION #2 (OF 3)

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Peter Gross

COLORS: Jeanne McGee

LETTERS: Cory Petit

COVER: Jodie Muir

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Tomm Coker

28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2022)

Rated M / Mature

American Jesus created by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

American Jesus is a comic book series created by writer Mark Millar and Peter Gross that is being published as three comic book miniseries.  American Jesus began life as Chosen, a three-issue miniseries that was published by Dark Horse Comics in 2004, and continued in American Jesus: The New Messiah, a three-issue series published by Image Comics in 2019-20.

The series concludes in American Jesus: Revelation, a three-issue series written by Millar; drawn by Gross; colored by Jeanne McGee; and lettered by Corey Petit.  The series offers the epic conclusion to the greatest story ever told.

American Jesus: Revelation #2 opens at the White House.  The world is gradually falling in line with the way Jodie Christianson want them.  But he is also the Chosen, the Anti-Christ, and now President of the United States.  But is this what he really wants?  Maybe, it's time to return to the old hometown, Peoria, Illinois, where he can have a meeting with an old friend.

Meanwhile, Catalina, who is the Savior and Christ-reborn, arrives at Vatican City, Rome.  This is her home, but no one seems to recognize her or her authority.  Is it because the Savior is now a Black woman?  Well, she gonna fix that and so much more.

THE LOWDOWN:  Netflix/Millarworld sent me PDF review copies of American Jesus, Vols. 1 and 2.  I had not read them until recently, and I needed to do so in preparation for American Jesus: Revelation.  But, as I said in my review of the first issue, nothing could prepare me.  Now, it's time for a review of the second issue and...

...Wow.  I don't know what to say, what I could say.  Of course, I'm enjoying this, as is usually the case with Mark Millar's creator-owned titles.  But I have never enjoyed any Millar title quite the (damnation) way I have American Jesus: Resurrection.

Peter Gross' wonderful storytelling entertains and scares me.  Gross is so good at conveying the … blasphemy of this that I may have to pay a stiff penance for loving it so.  And let's be honest; I do love the idea of Jesus Christ returning as a sista, girl.

With a sign of the cross, I recommend this hugely entertaining American Jesus: Revelation #2.  With a benediction and a clove of garlic, I bid us prepare for the finale to end all finales, come January 2023 … if the world doesn't end before then!

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar's comic books and of the American Jesus series will want to read American Jesus: Revelation.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://twitter.com/ImageComics

https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar

https://twitter.com/netflix

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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: "AMERICAN JESUS: Revelations #1" Rocks the Heavens

AMERICAN JESUS: REVELATION  #1 (OF 3)
IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Peter Gross with Tomm Coker
COLORS: Jeanne McGee with Daniel Freedman
LETTERS: Cory Petit
COVER: Jodie Muir
EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Tomm Coker
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2022)

Rated M / Mature

American Jesus created by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

American Jesus is a comic book series created by writer Mark Millar and Peter Gross that is being published as three comic book miniseries.  American Jesus began life as Chosen, a three-issue miniseries that was published by Dark Horse Comics in 2004, and continued in American Jesus: The New Messiah, a three-issue series published by Image Comics in 2019-20.

The series concludes in American Jesus: Revelation, a three-issue series written by Millar; drawn by Gross with Tomm Coker; colored by Jeanne McGee with Daniel Freedman; and lettered by Corey Petit.  The series offers the epic conclusion to the greatest story ever told.

American Jesus: Revelation #1 opens before time, with a depiction of the greatest and most infamous coup attempt ever known to the Western world and like-minded parts of it.  In modern times, Jodie Christianson, the Chosen, is now President of the United States.  He is a doting father, telling his two spawn … err … children bedtime tales, a bit of family time before he initiates that terrible attack that soured the hope and promise of the twenty-first century.

Now, the world is falling apart around President Jodie, and he could give a f**k.  Europe is in flames in a war with Russia.  Plagues and lock downs cover the globe.  The financial system is on the brink of collapse.  Jodie's solution is a one world government under the rule of the Antichrist (which is he) and with the digital enslavement of all mankind.

Can even the true savior – the returned Christ – stop Jodie now?  What are her true intentions, anyway?

THE LOWDOWN:  Netflix/Millarworld sent me PDF review copies of American Jesus, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.  I had not read them until recently, and I needed to do so in preparation for American Jesus: Revelation.  But nothing could prepare me.

Mark Millar is like an incorrigible kid, running through the museum of American exceptionalism and breaking all the bric-à-brac that passes for high art and culture.  A blue-eyed, middle American, small town boy as the Anti-Christ – done.  An Afro-Latina woman as the Savior – done.  Thick bodied, dark-skinned humans as Adam and Eve – he did it.  And Millar gleefully slays the pseudo-sacred cow of 9/11.  Yes, the Scotsman went nine-eleven on 9/11.  And he blends centuries of conspiracy theories – from books, oral history, and the digital age – into a delicious comic book pop confection that I want to devour until I have diabetes.

Yes, Peter Gross, Tomm Coker, Jeanne McGee, Daniel Freedman, and Corey Petit all do stellar work.  But for this first issue, I must testify to the comic book gospel of (Saint) Mark Millar.  All joking aside, Mark and Peter and company must really respect their audience to give us such a fantastic first issue.

Dear readers, you know that not all “superstar” comic book creators go out like Mark and Peter have these past two decades.  But I won't name them; instead, I'll focus on the most excellent American Jesus: Revelation #1.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar's comic books and of the American Jesus series will want to read American Jesus: Revelation.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: "AMERICAN JESUS Vol. 2: The New Messiah" - Alabarla!

AMERICAN JESUS, VOL. 2
IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Peter Gross
COLORS: Jeanne McGee
LETTERS: Cory Petit
EDITOR: Rachel Fulton
ISBN: 978-1-5343-0871-8; paperback (May 26, 2020)
96pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

Rated M / Mature

American Jesus created by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

American Jesus is a comic book series created by writer Mark Millar and Peter Gross that is being published as three comic book miniseries.  American Jesus began life as Chosen, a three-issue miniseries by Millar and Gross, that was published by Dark Horse Comics in 2004.

Image Comics published the second series, American Jesus: The New Messiah #1-3 (cover dated:  December 2019 to February 2020).  Image later collected the second series in trade paperback form as American Jesus, Vol. 2: The New Messiah.

The New Messiah opens in 1970s New York City.  It introduces 14-year-old Luciana Cortez, who has just discovered that she is pregnant – a pregnant teen virgin!  According to the man that appears in her dreams, her child is the Messiah.  Now, Luciana and her 16-year-old boyfriend, Eddie Jones, must flee for their lives as the forces of Satan close in to destroy them.

Eighteen years later, their daughter, rebellious Catalina, is a non-believer, and she thinks that her parents have been brainwashed by the cultists who guard her and her parents in a compound … in Waco, Texas.  Yet there is bloodshed a plenty ahead for young Catalina, and she will be forced to stop refusing to accept her destiny as the savior of mankind.

THE LOWDOWN:  Netflix/Millarworld sent me a PDF review copy of American Jesus, Vol. 2, and this is the first time I have read the story.  I didn't read The New Messiah upon its initial release because at the time I had not read American Jesus, Vol. 1.

Sixteen years after they introduced Chosen and its star, Jodie Christianson, Mark Millar and Peter Gross returned with The New Messiah.  Whereas the first volume of American Jesus was something of a horror comedy – droll, witty, and satirical on top of the inherent creepiness, the second volume of American Jesus is a horror-fantasy infused with dramatic aspects.  Darker in tone and more thoughtful, it is a different book for a different “chosen.”

The story of Luciana Cortez and Eddie Jones is essentially a teen romantic drama, although their situation gives it elements of a supernatural teen drama.  Before long, after Catalina is born and approaches adult hood, teen drama is in service of the supernatural situation.  The New Messiah might end as a suspense thriller filled with sequences of edgy action and violence, but on the way, the narrative dances around  from one genre to the next.  Like the first series, The New Messiah challenges our expectations and often trashes them.

It is a talent of Mark Millar to blend genres and sub-genres like the Dust Brothers on the Beastie Boys' album, Paul's Boutique (1989).  Peter Gross conveys the action, drama, and nuances with a deft touch that only the best of veteran comic book artists have.  Gross draws the readers deep into this tale, and Jeanne McGee's colors warm the storytelling space with rich moods and atmosphere.  Letterer Cory Petit keeps the story even as it flies through its surprises and shocking reveals.

Millar and Gross display an even more confident hand at storytelling in American Jesus Vol. 2 than they did in American Jesus Vol. 1, which was a self-assured work.  We don't know how they'll top what they have done so far, but we can be confident that they will.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar's comic books will want to read American Jesus.

[This volume includes “The Second Coming of Millar and Gross: Sixteen Years Later,” a conversation between Millar and Gross.]

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Comics Review: "AMERICAN JESUS Vol. 1: Chosen" - Holy Moley!

AMERICAN JESUS, VOL. 1
IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Peter Gross
COLORS: Jeanne McGee
LETTERS: Cory Petit
EDITOR: Rachel Fulton
ISBN: 978-1-5343-0871-8; paperback (May 26, 2020)
96pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

Rated M / Mature

American Jesus created by Mark Millar and Peter Gross

American Jesus is a comic book series created by writer Mark Millar and Peter Gross that is being published as a series of comic book miniseries.  American Jesus began life as Chosen, a three-issue miniseries by Millar and Gross and published by Dark Horse Comics in 2004.  In 2009, Image Comics collected Chosen in the trade paperback, American Jesus, Vol. 1: Chosen.

Chosen introduces an ordinary twelve-year-old boy.  Well, Jodie Christianson isn't really normal.  He is the Son of God.  After surviving the freak accident of having an 18-wheel vehicle fall on him, Jodie awakens to discover that he is Jesus Christ.  Well, that explains his parents, Martha and Jonah Christianson's weird and apparently sexless marriage.

Like the original Jesus, Jodie can turn water into wine, cure the blind (or near-sighted), and resurrect pets.  Well, he is not quite like the original.  How much is Jodie different from Christ?  Well, that's the rub, but the newly faithful of Peoria, Illinois are learning to love their boy Christ.  So how will Jodie deal with his destiny, which has been thousands of years in the making?...

THE LOWDOWN:  Netflix/Millarworld sent me a PDF review copy of American Jesus, Vol. 1, and this is the first time I have read the story.  I vaguely remember when the original Chosen miniseries was released, but I seem to remember having a difficult time finding any copies.

Chosen is a quiet comic book, as artist Peter Gross depicts even the most shocking moments in a measured way.  Nothing blows up in your face, but Gross has a way of blowing your mind with disquiet.  With this sense of unease, Gross draws you inside this troubling story.  Gross may be one of the only (if not only) comic book artists to convey via his illustrations and graphical storytelling that a Christ figure is not only supernatural, but also unnatural.  Jeanne McGee's coloring haunts every frame of this story, turning up the sense that something here is wrong.

Mark Millar, being both relentlessly prolific and unrelentingly inventive, is the twenty-first century version of those comic book creators of yesteryear who unwittingly created what would be million-dollar and billion dollar franchises – one after another.  Millar, however, is doing this for himself and his collaborators, and in Chosen, he gets one thing perfectly right.  Saviors and messiahs don't build a following on faith, but on what they can do for their followers.  Nowhere would that be more true than in America.  Every time, Jodie Christianson does something miraculous, the size of his flock multiplies.  Millar's script is almost matter of fact in this, and letterer Cory Petit paces out the wrongness of this scenario, helping to build the sense of trouble.

Thoughtfully conceived and confidently executed, American Jesus Vol. 1 is another example of how determined Mark Millar is to entertain, enthrall, and thrill his readers.  In Peter Gross, he has an equally skilled and determined storyteller.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar's comic books will want to read American Jesus.

[This volume includes an introduction by actor and filmmaker Simon Pegg; an “Afterword” by Brother Richard Hendrick; “The Gospel According to Millar and Gross: Occult Symbols and Hidden Meanings,” a conversation between Millar and Gross; and “From Script to Art with Peter Gross.”]

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Mormon Film "Witnesses" Debuts as Top Faith Film at the Box Office

Faith-Based ‘WITNESSES’ Debuts With Commanding Weekend Box Office Nationwide

- #1 Faith Film and Hits Top 10 Overall -

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WITNESSES opened this past weekend as the #1 Faith Film in America and in the top 10 films overall at the box office. CNN Radio called it a “commanding debut” and News Block called its opening “impressive.” Heralded as the epic family film of the summer, the film opened with a powerful performance at the box office nationwide.

    “While many people know some of their story, WITNESSES shares a remarkable story of faith in the face of tremendous opposition”

WITNESSES depicts the powerful true story of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon — David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris. For nearly 200 years, their statement of what occurred, and its veracity, has been published with every copy of the Book of Mormon. And while many people know the story contained in their statement, not many know the full story of how they became witnesses.

“We are absolutely thrilled with WITNESSES’ box office performance,” stated Brandon Purdie, president, and founder of Purdie Distribution. “We are thrilled to join Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, and Lions Gate among America’s Top 10 films this weekend with WITNESSES.” Purdie Distribution is managing the nationwide theatrical release of the groundbreaking film.

To their dying days, these witnesses defended their testimonies even when faced with threatening mobs, ridicule, and betrayal by friends and family even after leaving the church they were intimately involved in creating. Filmed on location in the US and Canada and featuring a world-class cast of American and Canadian actors, WITNESSES is a dramatic recreation of how Harris, Cowdery and Whitmer became witnesses to the gold plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon.

“While many people know some of their story, WITNESSES shares a remarkable story of faith in the face of tremendous opposition,” stated Russell Richins, the film’s producer.

For more information, visit witnessesfilm.com.


ABOUT THE FILM:
For nearly 200 years, skeptics and critics have attempted to explain away what David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris claimed—that they had seen angels and hefted golden metal plates containing ancient inscriptions. Now, for the first time, their amazing, untold true story comes to the big screen in the family film event of the year – WITNESSES. Featuring a world-class cast, WITNESSES has been hailed as the most significant and ambitious film dealing with the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the translation of the Book of Mormon ever made. Directed by Mark Goodman, the film explores how Harris, Cowdery and Whitmer became known as the Three Witnesses and how, to their dying days, they defended their testimonies even when faced with threatening mobs, ridicule, and betrayal by friends and family.

PURDIE DISTRIBUTION:
Purdie Distribution is a full-service theatrical distribution company known for releasing independent films nationwide. Established in 2011, Purdie Distribution led the theatrical campaigns for SAINTS AND SOLDIERS: AIRBORNE CREED and THE VOID, THE SARATOV APPROACH, FREETOWN, MEET THE MORMONS, ONCE I WAS A BEEHIVE, THE STRAY, OUT OF LIBERTY, HEART OF AFRICA, THE FORGOTTEN CAROLS, LAMB OF GOD: THE CONCERT FILM, along with T.C. Christensen’s THE FIGHTING PREACHER and LOVE, KENNEDY. Purdie Distribution is generally focused on films that inspire audiences and elevate the human experience. Before launching on his own, founder and owner Brandon Purdie helped establish the faith-based theatrical film movement with his work on the release of SAINTS AND SOLDIERS, THE WORK AND THE GLORY trilogy, and FOREVER STRONG.

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#28DaysofBlack Review: "LILIES OF THE FIELD" Feels Timeless and Spiritual

[For his performance in Lilies of the Field, Sidney Poitier became the first Black man to win the “Best Actor” Oscar.  Poitier received his Oscar at the 36th Academy Awards ceremony, held in April 1964.  It would be 38 years later, at the 74th Academy Awards in March 2002, when the second Black man won a “Best Actor” Oscar, Denzel Washington.  That night, Halle Berry also became the first, and of this writing, only Black woman to win a “Best Actress” Oscar.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 of 2021 (No. 1757) by Leroy Douresseaux

Lilies of the Field (1963)
Running time:  95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
PRODUCER-DIRECTOR: Ralph Nelson
WRITER:  James Poe (based on the novel, The Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett)
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ernest Haller (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John W. McCafferty
COMPOSER:  Jerry Goldsmith
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring:  Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, Pamela Branch, Stanley Adams, and Dan Frazer

Lilies of the Field is a 1963 drama film from producer-director, Ralph Nelson.  The film is based on the 1962 novel, The Lilies of the Field, written by William Edward Barrett.  Lilies of the Field the film focuses on a traveling handyman and the nuns who believe that he is the answer to their prayers.

Lilies of the Field opens somewhere in the Arizona desert.  Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier), an itinerant jack-of-all-trades, stops at what he assumes is an ordinary farm to obtain some water for his car, a station wagon.  There, he sees a group of women working around the farm.  These women turn out to be five nuns:  Mother Maria (Lilia Skala), Sister Gertrude (Lisa Mann), Sister Agnes (Iro Crino), Sister Albertine (Francesca Jarvis), and Sister Elizabeth (Pamela Branch).  The nuns, who speak very little English, introduce themselves as German, Austrian and Hungarian nuns.

Maria, the “Mother Superior” (the leader of the nuns), persuades Homer, whom she calls “Homer Schmidt,” to do a small job of roofing repair on the main building.  He stays overnight, assuming that he will be paid in the morning.  The next day, Smith tries to persuade Mother Maria to pay him by quoting from the Holy Bible, but she responds by asking him to read a Bible verse from the “Sermon on the Mount” (“Consider the lilies of the field...).  This won't be the last time that Mother Maria stonewalls Homer on the payment she owes him, but his strengths and skills are apparent to her and her nuns.  Mother Maria believes that Homer has been sent by God to fulfill their dream of building a chapel (which they call a “shapel”) on their land.

If people remember Lilies of the Field, it would be for Sidney Poitier's performance, which earned him the “Best Actor” Oscar, and for the film's historical relevance.  Poitier's win for portraying Homer Smith was the first time a black man had won the “Best Actor” Oscar, and it was also the first time a black actor had won an Academy Award in a lead acting category.  To date, Homer Smith is my favorite performance of Poitier's.  Poitier presents Homer as a man full of skill, grit, and determination, with plenty of sly wit and humor.  Most of all, through Homer, Poitier makes the audience believe in man's capacity for kindness and in a man having a sense of duty and honor that he does not use to place himself above other men.

The film is blessed with several good performances.  Lilia Skala, who earned a “Best Supporting Actress” Oscar nomination for her performance, can convince the audience that Mother Maria is a real person and not just a character in a movie.  Skala makes Maria's faith seem genuine, and it is Maria's faith in God that in turn makes this film feel like a religious movie, or even a Christian movie, for that matter, without Lilies of the Field specifically being either religious or Christian.

Faith in God and faith in the goodness of man are at the heart of this film.  James Poe's screenplay and the way that director Ralph Nelson presents this story combine to send a simple message of faith in God over worrying about the things one wants to happen.  Lilies of the Field is not a Christmas movie, but I think it could be a wonderful entry in people's “Happy Holidays” playlist.

I found myself often very emotional while watching this film.  At a little more than a hour and a half of run time, Lilies of the Field seems like a fairy tale, a folk tale, or even a Biblical story.  It is magical.  It is wonderful.  And it makes faith seem like a very good thing, indeed.  When people speak of the magic of Hollywood films, I think that there is plenty of that magic in Lilies of the Field.

10 of 10

Tuesday, February 23, 2021


NOTES:
1964 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Sidney Poitier); 4 nominations: “Best Picture” (Ralph Nelson), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Lilia Skala), “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium” (James Poe), and “Best Cinematography, Black-and-White” (Ernest Haller)

1964 Golden Globes, USA:  2 wins:  “Best Actor – Drama” (Sidney Poitier) and “Best Film Promoting International Understanding” and 2 nominations:  “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Supporting Actress” (Lilia Skala)

1965 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Foreign Actor” (Sidney Poitier) and “UN Award” (USA)

2020 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  1 win: “National Film Registry”


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Review: "Son of God" Has Power

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux on Patreon

Son of God (2014)
Running time:  138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense and bloody depiction of The Crucifixion, and for some sequences of violence
DIRECTOR:  Christopher Spencer
WRITERS:  Richard Bedser, Christopher Spencer, Colin Swash, and Nic Young
PRODUCERS:  Richard Bedser, Mark Burnett, and Roma Downey
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Rob Goldie
EDITOR:  Robert Hall
COMPOSERS:  Lorne Balfe and Hans Zimmer

RELIGIOUS/DRAMA

Starring:  Diogo Morgado, Darwin Shaw, Amber Rose Revah, Mathew Gravelle, Sebastian Knapp, Joe Wredden, Greg Hicks, Adrian Schiller, Paul Brightwell, Simon Kunz, Fraser Ayres, Joe Coen, Leila Mimmack, Idrissa Sisco, and Roma Downey

Son of God is a 2014 religious film and Biblical drama from director Christopher Spencer.  The film is a follow-up to the hit 2013 cable television miniseries, “The Bible” (History Channel), from husband and wife producing team, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, who also produced this movie.  Son of God follows the life of Jesus Christ, from His birth to His resurrection, especially focusing on the time from when Jesus began his public ministry to his Crucifixion.

Son of God opens with John (Sebastian Knapp), the last surviving disciple of Christ, as an old man living in exile as he tells his story.  John narrates the story of Jesus' birth, before moving 30 years forward in the story.  The adult Jesus (Diogo Morgado) begins gathering followers, including Peter (Darwin Shaw), John, and Judas (Joe Wredden), who would eventually betray him.

Jesus' popular ministry upsets the status quo in Judea, earning him the ire of the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders.  Caiaphas (Adrian Schiller), head of the Pharisees, believes that Jesus is a grave threat, so he begins to plot against him.  When Jesus and his disciples enter Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover holiday, Caiaphas seeks the help of Pontius Pilate (Greg Hicks), the prelate who has command over Judea for the Roman Empire.  But are the Pharisee and the Roman part of a plot or are they part of a larger plan that that neither they nor Jesus's disciples can truly understand?

I found Son of God to be both an uplifting and a truly entertaining film.  That surprised me because I found much of the film's first hour to be awkward and overly mannered.  The film initially seems like a stiff and clunky stage production mounted by sincere and well-meaning Christians who have little or no idea about how powerful the cinematic narrative can be.

However, after the halfway point, the film rapidly grows more powerful and the narrative more insistent.  It become emotional and heartrending, but also invigorating and celebratory.  I felt the Holy Spirit move me as Jesus suffered the Passion and the Crucifixion.  [I was once Roman Catholic.]

Son of God features some scenes that were part of “The Bible” miniseries.  I only recognized a few scenes, as I did not watch much of the TV miniseries.  The acting in Son of God is a little better than the acting featured in movies shown on religious cable networks like TBN.  However, this film is not about the acting; it is about the story.

Yes, this film did receive many bad reviews from movie reviewers and film critics, but the film isn't as dull, as heavy-handed, or as preachy as some said.  Also, Son of God isn't quite a “Sunday School lesson,” as some would have you believe.  When Son of God hits its narrative stride, it is powerful and moving, and even inspiring.  Hey, the best part of this movie moved me into giving it a high rating.  This film does quite well by the story and message of the Son of God.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, May 30, 2015


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Pope Francis Blesses Actor Rodrigo Santoro, Jesus in Upcoming "Ben-Hur" Remake

Pope Francis blessed actor Rodrigo Santoro, who plays Jesus Christ in the upcoming epic BEN-HUR, at the Papal Audience at St Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Wednesday, April 15th, 2015:

Actor Rodrigo Santoro takes a break from filming BEN-HUR, which is currently in production in Rome, to attend the Papal Audience and meet Pope Francis.

Actress Nazanin Boniadi and actor Rodrigo Santoro of BEN-HUR in front of the Vatican for the Papal Audience visit.

Check out Nazanin Boniadi’s Instagram for more photos of their visit to the Vatican: https://instagram.com/nazaninboniadi/

Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures present BEN-HUR opening in theaters nationwide on February 26, 2016.

BEN-HUR is the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, Messala (Toby Kebbell), an officer in the Roman army.  Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Nazanin Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery.  After years at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, but finds redemption.  Based on Lew Wallace’s timeless novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.  Also starring Morgan Freeman and Rodrigo Santoro.

Starring:  Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Sofia Black D’Elia
Directed by:  Timur Bekmambetov
Written by:  Keith Clarke and John Ridley
Produced by:  Sean Daniel, Mark Burnett, Joni Levin, and Duncan Henderson
Exec. Produced by:  Roma Downey, Keith Clarke, John Ridley, and Jason Brown

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Amy Berg's "Deliver Us from Evil" is Powerful and Pointed

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 90 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
Running time:  103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – (Not rated)
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Amy Berg
PRODUCERS:  Amy Berg, Matthew Cooke, Frank Donner, and Hermas Lassalle
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Jacob Kusk and Jens Schlosser
EDITOR:  Matthew Cooke
COMPOSERS:  Joseph Arthur and Mick Harvey
2007 Academy Award nominee

DOCUMENTARY – Religion and Crime

Starring:  Oliver O’Grady, Thomas Doyle, Jane Degroot, Case Degroot, Anne Jyono, Bob Jyono, Marie Jyono, and Nancy Sloan

Deliver Us from Evil is a 2006 Oscar-nominated documentary film from writer-director, Amy Berg.  The film focuses on a Catholic priest whom the Catholic Church relocated to various parishes around the United States for the better part of two decades in order to cover up his rape of dozens of children.

Berg has recently gained notoriety because of a documentary film upon which she is currently working.  The unnamed film reportedly contains sex abuse allegations made against director Bryan Singer.  Singer is best known for his work on 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film franchise and for the Oscar-winning film, The Usual Suspects.

From the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, Catholic priest, Father Oliver O’Grady moved about Northern California molesting and raping countless children.  With her unsettling documentary, Deliver Us from Evil, director Amy Berg exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed O’Grady to abuse children (and sometimes their parents).  Berg conducts a series of disturbing interviews with the pedophile priest that seek to provide a window for the viewer into the mind of this deeply troubled man, and Berg also mixes that with his victims’ stories.

Deliver Us from Evil attempts to construct a portrait of O’Grady as a spiritual leader who moved from church parish to church parish and gained the trust of various congregations, only to later betray so many of them by abusing their children.  Berg thoroughly investigates O’Grady’s past as a priest and speaks with many of his victims and parishioners, as well as participants involved in O’Grady’s legal cases.  Later in the film, she broadens her approach to take a look at clergy abuse of children in Boston, and she interviews people who believe that the problem of abuse is international and may have begun as early as the fourth century.  Experts on theology and law speak to the doctrinal, legal, and theological issues that establish an environment for abuse.

Although the film seems to lose focus the last 20 minutes or so, Deliver Us from Evil is as mesmerizing as any great film thriller or as riveting and frightening as any great horror movie, and it exposes evil that is widespread and even more destructive.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards:  1 nomination for “Best Documentary, Features” (Amy Berg and Frank Donner)

Monday, June 11, 2007

Updated:  Saturday, April 19, 2014


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Review: "Iraq in Fragments" Gives Voice to the Voiceless

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 80 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Iraq in Fragments (2006)
Running time:  94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – Not rated
DIRECTOR:  James Longley
COMPOSER/CINEMATOGRAPHER:  James Longley
PRODUCERS:  James Longley and John Sinno
EDITORS:  James Longley, Billy McMillin, and Fiona Otway
2007 Academy Award nominee

DOCUMENTARY – War, Politics, Religion

Starring:  Mohammed Haithem and Suleiman Mahmoud

The subject of this movie review is Iraq in Fragments, a 2006 documentary from filmmaker James Longley.  The film offers stories from modern day Iraq, as told by Iraqis living in a time of war, occupation and ethnic tension.

Iraq in Fragments earned an Academy Award nomination.  The film also won 3 awards at the 2006 Sundance Festival:  “Cinematography Award,” “Directing Award,” and “Documentary Film Editing Award,” as well as being nominated for the “Grand Jury Price."

In his Oscar-nominated documentary, Iraq in Fragments, director James Longley presents a portrait of Iraq, a nation divided, one at war with itself after the United States invaded the country won Operation: Iraqi Freedom.  Through a collage of images and commentary from ordinary Iraqis, Longley illuminates post-invasion Iraq in three acts focusing on different regions of the country.

In Part One, entitled “Mohammed of Baghdad,” Mohammed, a fatherless 11-year old boy is apprenticed to a dictatorial garage owner, who is outraged that after several years of schooling Mohammed cannot read.  In, “Sadr’s South,” the followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rally for regional elections, but also enforce Islamic law at the point of a gun, which some residents see as similar to things Saddam Hussein did and the American are doing.  In the final act, “Kurdish Spring,” a family of farmers welcome the American presence because it brings them a measure of freedom Kurdistan never knew, but one boy, Suleiman, will still see his dreams of an education dashed as he remains trapped in his elderly father’s meager occupations as a sheepherder and brick maker.

Through these interviews with Iraqis (although neither his nor his translators’ voices are ever heard), Longley, via words and images, captures the discord in the war-torn country – both in the abstract and in the literal that give the effects of war, political unrest, religious feuds deeper meaning.  In this way, Longley helps the audience to understand how living in uncertainty and deepening poverty drags on the people physically and spiritually.

Sometimes, the film seems to hunger for a historical context (especially when an Iraqi subject mentions distant historical events), and the near-absence of Americans in this documentary is noticeable.  That doesn’t really hurt Iraq in Fragment, for it remains a riveting film in which the images and subjects stick with you in an insistent fashion.  Besides, with this documentary, Longley forces us (at least the ones who do bother to see Iraq in Fragments) to do something more Americans should – see things from the ordinary Iraqi’s perspective.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards:  1 nomination for “Best Documentary, Features,” (James Longley and John Sinno)

Monday, May 21, 2007

Updated, Wednesday, September 11, 2013

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"Joyful Noise" is Joyful Indeed

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 55 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Joyful Noise (2012)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some language including a sexual reference
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Todd Graff
PRODUCERS: Joseph Farrell, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Michael G. Nathanson, and Catherine Paura
CINEMATOGRAPHER: David Boyd
EDITOR: Kathryn Himoff
COMPOSER: Mervyn Warren

DRAMA/MUSIC/SPIRITUAL

Starring: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Dexter Darden, Courtney B. Vance, Jesse L. Martin, Angela Grovey, Andy Karl, Dequina Moore, Paul Woolfolk, Kirk Franklin, and Kris Kristofferson

Joyful Noise is a 2012 music-driven film and Christian-theme drama from Todd Graff, the director of Bandslam. Joyful Noise stars Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton as rivals in a small church choir that is competing in a national singing competition.

The story is set in the small town of Pacashau, Georgia. Pacashau is going through some hard economic times, but the people take pride in Pacashau Sacred Divinity Choir. For quite a few years now, the choir has made it to the regional finals of Joyful Noise, a national amateur singing competition for church choirs.

The choir recently suffered a tragic loss. Now, G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton), a patron of Pacashau Sacred Divinity Church, faces off with the choir’s newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah), over the choir’s direction as they head to the Joyful Noise regionals. To make matters more complicated, G.G.’s wayward grandson, Randy Garrity (Jeremy Jordan), is back in town, and he becomes immediately attracted to Vi Rose’s daughter, Olivia (Queen Latifah). As internal dissent begins to threaten the choir, can faith and determination combined with young talent keep the choir singing God’s praise? Will the choir win the Joyful Noise nationals in Los Angeles?

Joyful Noise is strange in that writer/director Todd Graff seems to have fashioned not one movie, but several mini-movies put together to form one patchwork film narrative. At its heart, Joyful Noise is two things. The first is a teen romance featuring former childhood friends reunited in the throws of teen angst. Surprisingly, although Olivia is black and Randy is white, this is not an interracial love story. Their race/skin color never comes up as an obstacle in their relationship or as a problem for other characters. Joyful Noise’s second identity is that of a modern dustbowl drama about a rural, small town suffering the deprivations of what is essentially our modern version of the Great Depression, except that we call it the Great Recession.

The problem is that the love story and the town-in-recession story never come together; normally, one would affect the other, but they remain separate, and not quite equal. They’re like two different dramas sharing the same stage.

Meanwhile, there are these other dramas competing for space. There is the Vi Rose/G.G. cat fight that goes on too long, although the script doesn’t really provide enough to convince me that they should be mad at one another. There is the marital discord between Vi Rose and her husband, Marcus Hill (Jesse L. Martin), which is well written and perhaps should have been at the center of this movie. Instead, it seems like a tacked-on subplot. There is some kind of conflict between G.G. and Pastor Dale (Courtney B. Vance), and while Graff drops hints about it, he largely ignores it.

Of course, the movie is supposed to be about Pacashau Sacred Divinity Choir’s quest to get to the Joyful Noise nationals in L.A., but Graff often loses that behind all the other melodramas. Still, it is the music and singing that make this movie soar. At this point in the review, dear reader, you probably think that I didn’t like Joyful Noise. Quite the contrary: this movie is made of parts that don’t always fit, but I love it because the great music brings it all together and turns Joyful Noise into something that tugs at my heart.

Joyful Noise is Tyler Perry + Hallmark Channel holiday special + Glee. I love the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movies, and Joyful Noise seems to put a gospel theatre spin on that. Although this is not a Christmas movie, it felt like Christmas-time to me, as I watched these characters come together to make things good for one another in really bad times. As for the acting, it’s mixed, although Queen Latifah has a screaming-fit scene with Keke Palmer that could pass as a pitch for an Oscar nomination. But Joyful Noise is about the noise and it is joyful. I want get that soundtrack.


6 of 10
B

Friday, July 06, 2012

"Woman Thou Art Loosed" Stirring, Powerful

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 40 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, sexual content, and drug use
DIRECTOR: Michael Schultz
WRITER: Stan Foster (from the novel by T.D. Jakes)
PRODUCER: Reuben Cannon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Reinhart “Rayteam” Peschke
EDITOR: Billy Fox
Black Reel Award winner

DRAMA/RELIGIOUS

Starring: Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, Debbi Morgan, Michael Boatman, Clifton Powell, Idalis DeLeon, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Sean Blackmore, Jordan Moseley, Philip Daniel Bolden, Destiny Edmond, and Ricky Harris

The subject of this movie review is Woman Thou Art Loosed, a 2004 religiously-themed drama that is directed by famed African-American filmmaker, Michael Schultz. The film is an adaptation of the 1994 self-help book of the same name.

Woman Thou Art Loosed, adapted from Bishop T.D. Jakes best-selling self-help book for women, begins with Michelle Jordan (Kimberly Elise) committing a murder at a revival. Later, Bishop T.D. Jakes (playing himself) visits Michelle on death row. Told through flashbacks, we then see Michelle, just released from prison and determined not to return to her self-destructive life of drugs, stripping, and prostitution, struggle with the demons of her past, including being molested by her mother Cassey’s (Loretta Devine) boyfriend, Reggie (Clifton Powell). At the encouragement of Twana (Debbi Morgan), a family friend, Michelle begins attending Bishop Jakes’ three-day revival, the scene of Michelle’s ultimate tragedy. Can Bishop Jakes help Michelle to accept the healing power of Jesus’ love?

Woman Thou Art Loosed is a beautiful and spiritually engaging film. What it lacks in refinement and technique, it makes up for with religious fervor. Directed by Michael Shultz (Cooley High and Car Wash among others), who was probably the only black film director to consistently direct movies during the 1970’s and 80’s, the film is mostly disjointed for the first half of its running time. Actually, the film is quite hard to follow for the first 20 minutes or so, but then the narrative seems to miraculously come together and flows smoothly the rest of the way. The tragedy of the film is that the script, which tells a very good and compelling story, is short of characterization and character development. Rich characters fill this story, but we only get a taste of them, just enough to irritate because the story doesn’t give more.

What makes this clunky movie soar is Kimberly Elise’s brilliant and searing portrayal of Michelle, young woman who seemingly can’t stop making bad decisions once her innocence is destroyed when she is a child. Ms. Elise has a magnetic screen presence and her performance as a young woman with trials and tribulations is much truer than Oscar winner Hilary Swank’s tepid routine as a trailer trash boxer in Million Dollar Baby. Also stirring is the ministry and preaching of Bishop Jakes.

Though there are moments in the film when the revival seems a bit over the top, 80 percent of the time, it is awe-inspiring and stirs the soul and awakens the intellect. Bishop Jakes’ message of hope and Ms. Elise’s performance, as well as the other actors who give excellent supporting performances in spite of a limp script, make this a fine religious drama. What it lacks as art, Woman Thou Art Loosed makes up for with spirit and hope.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2005 Black Reel Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actress, Independent Film” (Kimberly Elise) and “Best Director, Independent Film” (Michael Schultz); 2 nominations: “Best Actor, Independent Film” (Clifton Powell) and “Best Independent Film” (Reuben Cannon)

2005 Image Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film;” 2 nominees: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Kimberly Elise) and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Loretta Devine)