The purpose of this blog is to highlight the presence of the people of the African Diaspora in period costume dramas. It is also to provide a historical context to the films featured.
Set during the Civil War, the drama follows the true story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy: banding together with other small farmers and with the assistance of local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones.
His marriage to a former slave, Rachel, and his subsequent establishment of a mixed race community was unique in the post-war South. Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw is playing his mixed race wife Rachel and Mahershala Ali is playing a runaway slave named Moses Washington.
I can honestly say this is one of the first movies centered around a Confederate solider that I am actually looking forward to.
Water White is based on the 2011 children’s book which was co-authored by Michael Bandy and Eric Stein. The film is based on a childhood experience of author Bandy and tells the story of a boy in 1963 Alabama who is obsessed with drinking water from the “Whites Only” fountain. I was drawn to this movie premise because my grandfather told me about his experience as a child in 1950’s Georgia wanting to drink from the white fountain. Like Michael, my grandfather found that the water wasn’t all he thought it would be. The narrative style and tone of the film fit perfectly as it is from the point of view of a 7 year old little boy. Watching the shenanigans that Michael and his older cousin Red get into was hilarious. Amir and Amari O'Neil were perfectly cast as Michael. Although twins they played the character in the same way. I was not even aware that Michael was being played by twins until I looked up the trailer to write this review. I was also impressed by the actin...
We have the finally trailer for the 2024 Bob Marley biopic, Bob Marley: One Love. The film celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. Discover Bob Marley's powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music. Produced in partnership with the Marley family and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the legendary musician and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita. Bob Marley: One Love is in theatres February 14, 2024.
A family clash over an heirloom piano explodes. The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Washington co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams and is an adaptation of the 1987 Pulitzer-prize winning August Wilson play. The battle between brother (John David Washington) and sister (Danielle Deadwyler) — one hopes to sell it, the other refuses to give it up — unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived and who defines a family legacy. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean, Danielle Deadwyler, and Corey Hawkins. The film will be in select theaters November and on Netflix November 22.
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