This February, in such tumultuous times, this writer offers five films directed by Black artists many readers may not have heard of. While most of these movies cover incredibly dark and important topics, their ability to provoke feelings provides enjoyment no matter how realistic these movies are. Now, for your consideration, five Black films.
“Watermelon Man” (Directed by Melvin van Peebles)
Imagine if you will that it’s 1970, you’re a successful white businessman with a wife and two kids, and one morning, you wake up as a Black man. This Kafkaesque turn of events happens to Jeff Gerber, played by Godfrey Cambridge in a side-busting dual-race performance.
The average Joe who works out every morning, drinks dubious health beverages and willfully runs after his bus to work every morning has his world turned upside down by an overnight change in skin tone. Enduring the whole range of human emotions as he tries to return to normalcy, “Watermelon Man” is the Blackest of comedies, poking fun at white society and Black culture with a deft hand.
“Origin” (Directed by Ava DuVernay)
Sociopolitical theory meets heartbreaking personal drama in Ava DuVernay’s “Origin“, telling the story of author and researcher Isabel Wilkerson. As Isabel studies and compares different oppressed groups in history, her own life faces as much drastic change as academic understanding. Isabel visits Germany and India in her travels, witnessing and learning of the horrors faced by Jewish people under the Nazis and the Dalits (the lowest caste level) in India.
While this may not seem like a traditionally ‘exciting’ film, it is emotionally and intellectually stimulating in such a unique way that viewers cannot help but follow Isabel through her journey of loss, suffering, understanding and hope.
“Nope” (Directed by Jordan Peele)
Cowboy horror sci-fi epic “Nope” is not like any western, terrifier or futuristic flick you’ve ever seen. Sketch writer turned horror genius Jordan Peele’s third cinematic effort abandons the cramped, eerie dimensions of his previous works for the vast, eerie dimension of the American West.
Siblings OJ and Emerald Haywood operate their family’s acting horse ranch, primarily catering to film and TV sets. When strange occurrences begin cropping up around them, including the presence of former child-star Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park, the unknown intrudes, drastically changing their hopes of success and survival. Worth at least three viewings, “Nope” is as unique a film as you can find.
“Xala” (Directed by Ousmane Sembène)
Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène may be unfamiliar to you, but truly, he should be anything but. A trailblazer for African cinema and political thought in the mid-20th century, Sembène placed his lens over every niche of his community and culture, from a village’s quiet-turned-rousing rebellion in Emitaï, to the biting class commentary and satire of his 1975 film, “Xala”.
Recently elected to local office, businessman El Hadji holds his third wedding to show power and economic prosperity to his community. When, on the wedding night, El Hadji becomes impotent, he and the women around him insist it to be a curse, leading him on a tragic journey that shows him the cost of the power he loves.
“Bamboozled” (Directed by Spike Lee)
Spike Lee arguably redefined Black cinema hand over hand in the early 1990s, with films like “Do the Right Thing”, “Jungle Fever”, and “Malcolm X” platforming numerous Black actors to the mainstream, while simultaneously telling authentically Black stories to predominantly white audiences. However, it may be hard to see how “Bamboozled” could have been made for the average white person.
Starring Damon Wayans as television network employee Pierre Delacroix, the film follows the ideation, creation and resolution of what would happen if a minstrel show was on live television Saturday nights. Taking two Black street performers outside his network’s building, Delacroix transforms them into the embodiment of white ignorance and hate, in some of the most uncomfortable scenes this writer has ever witnessed. Bold, poignant and downright hilarious at points, “Bamboozled” will leave the audience… well, you know.
To conclude, truly any of these films mentioned would offer the audience a fascinating, worldview-changing experience, February or not. In the shortest month of the year, treat yourself to some enlightening film, with phenomenal actors, directors, soundtracks and stories to boot.
