This movie authentically portrays the harsh realities of racism in the American South without exaggeration, making its themes still relevant today. It also deeply explores the dehumanizing struggle of providing for loved ones, showing empathy for men shaped by class disparity in a way rarely seen in even progressive art. The film’s raw honesty and nuanced perspective create a powerful and enduring impact.

This movie authentically portrays the harsh realities of racism in the American South without exaggeration, making its themes still relevant today. It also deeply explores the dehumanizing struggle of providing for loved ones, showing empathy for men shaped by class disparity in a way rarely seen in even progressive art. The film’s raw honesty and nuanced perspective create a powerful and enduring impact.

This one hits hard. I feel all the things.



Format: Streaming (Criterion Channel)
Black Month #2

This one hits hard. I feel all the things.



Format: Streaming (Criterion Channel)
Black Month #2

Beautifully shot!

Beautifully shot!

so stunned that i forgot to log it right away

so stunned that i forgot to log it right away

The most obvious comparison I can make is Cassavetes who at that point had directed three pictures but only one of them in the independent style we most associate with him. Roemer similarly focuses his attention on an impressionistic understanding of his characters and an almost cinema verite direction but there's enough distinct in his story of a working-class Black man's struggles with dignity and love to make this a worthy watch. I feel similarly about this as I do with something like Shadows; I admire its construction, but I struggle to connect beyond an intellectual layer. Still, there's something so striking about how Roemer relates the ways Black workers are degraded by not just white bosses or customers but even other workers and their family.

The most obvious comparison I can make is Cassavetes who at that point had directed three pictures but only one of them in the independent style we most associate with him. Roemer similarly focuses his attention on an impressionistic understanding of his characters and an almost cinema verite direction but there's enough distinct in his story of a working-class Black man's struggles with dignity and love to make this a worthy watch. I feel similarly about this as I do with something like Shadows; I admire its construction, but I struggle to connect beyond an intellectual layer. Still, there's something so striking about how Roemer relates the ways Black workers are degraded by not just white bosses or customers but even other workers and their family.