African Giants
Omar S. Kamara
2023, 105 mins.
“I didn’t come here in chains”
Here is a two-hander that explores present-day Muslim-African brothers coming to America from Sierra Leone: one is Sheku, an aspiring lawyer (Omete Anassi carries much of the film), his elder sibling being Alhaji (appropriately optimistic and literally pissed/high is Dillon Mutyaba).
Over a three-day weekend in L.A., the two bros come to grips with hopes, dreams and a demanding faraway father whose specialty is providing tough love to his ambitious sons.
While the actors do their best, Kamara’s script is too transparent to provide any real surprises (most especially the closing scenes). The production’s strength comes from giving those white-amongst-us, a much different perspective about what it means to be Black, but not North American, in the land of, apparently, opportunity for all, whether properly or illegally entered. Great timing for the many issues facing the U.S. today. JWR
American Dreamer
Paul Dektor
2023, 98 mins.
Such a waste of talent
With Peter Dinklage (as intellectual Dr. Phil Loder), Shirley MacLaine (as doddering Astrid Fanelli) and Matt Dillon portraying real estate hustler Dell, you’d think here was a film that would raise the laugh track, fuel the narrative and keep all engaged from first shot to the credits.
Alas, it was not to be.
Such a pity that this version of the American Dream was left in the sewer, with only a rambunctious woodpecker to provide any comic relief. JWR
The Soldier’s Tale
R.O. Blechman, Christian Blackwood
1984, 56 mins.
What price riches?
Here’s a, literally, animated treatment of Igor Stravinsky’s chamber-scored masterpiece (in this instance, members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra led by Gerard Schwarz—just a hair short of achieving superb ensemble).
It falls to the venerable Max von Sydow to take up the role of the greedy devil, and Dusan Makavejev to voice the “retired” soldier who would rather just settle down and play his violin forever.
The fanciful script (Blechman, based on C.F. Ranuz’s original libretto) is mostly faithful to the original with the incessantly ringing telephones added for good measure, unimagined wealth due to early harvesting of “mechanical reproduction of sound” apparently outlined in the devil’s book, and a somewhat slimy radio host (Mike Mearlan) doing the play by play of the princess’ (Galina Panova) recovery (ably assisted by Dr. Le Bow’s—get it?—entrancing violin skills).
Overall, it’s an inventive take one of the 20th century’s masterpieces, but still better in its original form than on the big screen. JWR