This was one of the many films that I wish I had had the time to see during SXSW this year, but my schedule and THE schedule often times didn't see eye to eye... This one sounds pretty darn good, and the festival did have a positive buzz for the movie...
First time reviewer, long-time site lizard.
Just got back from the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas and had a blast, did the whole panel-thing, saw some truly wonderful (and truly wretched) films, and met lots of great people.
The reason I wanted to review a film for the first time is because I saw a pic not many people saw at the fest and also because it was shown for the first time ever with its initial Sunday afternoon screening. The film is called "A Day in Black and White" and concerns race relations as anyone who picked up any of the "in your face" flyers for the movie could tell you.
The main plot of the movie focuses on an African-American man who has to give a speech to his teacher-girlfriend's students on the subject of race. The story weaves along as he and all the persons he meets, including his white roommate, confront their feelings on the issues of race, primarily in the dealings between blacks and whites. The white roommate, who has been his friend for years, suddenly becomes an antagonist as toes get stepped on in the increasingly more frank discussions of race relations.
Everyone from taxi drivers to eavesdroppers to restauranteurs to school kids are used to round out this rather comprehensive sociological exploration. When questioned in the talkback session following the screening, writer-director Desmond Hall admitted that he had spent many moons leading up to the writing of the screenplay talking to everyone that would talk back to him about the issue of race before setting out to squire the film in the direction he wanted it to take.
A scene mentioned in an earlier brief review on this site for "A Day in Black and White" commented on the incredibly stark scene of two white kids pounding down the block after a black kid. The scene shows what kind of promise Desmond Hall has as a director. The well-acted and beautifully light character of the taxi driver shows what promise Mr. Hall has as a writer.
An engrossing film, "A Day in Black and White" accomplishes what it sets out to do which seems to be to make everyone in the audience relate, at least on some level, to the arguments of just about everyone on screen.
As the film is more of an ongoing debate that rises and falls and changes scenery than a strictly narrative film, Mr. Hall does well by using the few dialogue-less examples of his debate where he challenges the audience to come to their own conclusions without it being spelled out.
I made it a point to ask the director what was next on his slate and he responded by saying that he was working on a script set in his homeland of Jamaica concerning the incredibly multi-cultural layout of his old neighborhood, focusing on the relationship between a young boy and an old man.
I had the opportunity to speak with the producer, Jon Gold, the day before and he related to me the ups and downs of trying to shoot a film while working day jobs, a common theme at SXSW, but also he explained the name of the production company, which is Box Drink Films. Mr. Gold and Mr. Hall decided to go ahead and make the film while drinking on the beach in Jamaica and the locals there refer to bottled drinks as "Box Drinks." If I am mutilating that story, I apologize.
With a comedic tip of the hat to Spike Lee, Desmond Hall proves with his first film that he is certainly a director to be reckoned with and a writer with something to say. Sometimes its hard for me to overlook first-time flaws with even a good first feature, but it is very easy to do when the feature goes so far as to impress me.
See "A Day in Black and White" and track Desmond Hall. This film proves inexorably that it won't be the first time you'll hear his name.
Did I mention the film was funny as hell?
Anyway, this is sounding a bit like an outrageous fanboy rave, so I'll cut it off. Be back to "posting only" status soon.
-Smilin' Jack Ruby
