SOUNDER (1972)
Greetings,
loyal readers! No, unfortunately, I do not have a new film review ready for
this week. Nothing interesting really came out, aside from that film which
Ridley Scott’s son directed and everybody says it’s not very good. So, I
decided to write a mini-Throwback review for the 1972 film Sounder.
Set in
the Deep South during the Depression, the story follows the Morgans, a
sharecropping family whose patriarch Nathan Lee (Paul Winfield) is sent to a
prison camp for a petty crime. After a few months, the mother of the family,
Rebecca (Cecily Tyson) sends out the oldest son, David Lee (Kevin Hooks) to the
prison camp to visit his father. Accompanied by his dog, Sounder, David Lee
embarks on the journey which leads him to a predominately black school, with a
teacher who takes a particular interest in him.
Something
about this film that everybody should know going in is that it’s sort of
minimal on plot; it’s more of a character-driven film. It mostly involves
watching this family deal with life’s tough hurdles, such as Nathan Lee going
to prison, along with the prejudice of the white people in the town. As a
matter of fact, what made this film so special in its day (and what kind of
makes it special now, I would argue) is that it’s a black film that doesn’t
slip into stereotype. The family is portrayed as a regular family, the father
is not portrayed as a complete nutcase who runs out on his family, and when
David Lee is presented an opportunity for higher education, he’s very
supportive of it. And considering that a lot of the black films coming out at
the time were very exploitative, that is actually pretty unique.
The atmosphere
is also very quiet and understated, with some top of the line cinematography
and a light musical score by Taj Mahal. Again, this may be an acquired taste
for some prospective viewers of this film (I myself was a little bored with it
at times), but it really grows on you if you let it.
So,
bottom line, if you’re looking to take a break from the frenetic, pop-culture
referencing family films of today, I’d say give this film a watch. It’s light
on plot, but heavy on heart and character. And that makes it worth at least one
viewing!
And that's all I have to say about this film! Stay tuned for more!
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