Yep, it's another list of independent films that you should watch instead of Hollywood Blockbusters. This one has a little twist. I read lists like this all the time, but this time we're doing Black films. I'm not sure why Black films get left off the list, so I'm making a list. Some new, some old, all independent and great films. You're probably quarantined anyway so check out a few of them.
Luce tells the story of a young African man adopted by a white couple. He manages to walk into a feud with the only Black teacher in the school with both of them elevating the stakes in an attempt to ruin the other. In the end it comes down to competing views on what it means to be Black. All with a few hints of psychological horror sprinkled on top.
Home is a heart squeezer. It tells the story of a man simply named, Jack. He suffers from a few different mental illnesses that have caused a great deal of pain in his life. His wife has left him, he was almost sent to prison for drug running, he's estranged from his father and he watched his mother die due to her declining mental state. Still, Jack only wants one thing. He wants to leave his halfway house for his own apartment, so he can watch baseball with his son on the weekends. It's all so simple, but it isn't. We get some serious looks at the mental health system in America and what it takes just to survive and be "normal," as mentioned multiple times in the film.
This is a film full of symbolism, and I have no idea what any of it means. Still, the film is amazing. It follows Toni, she's a boxer. But, she doesn't want to box anymore, she wants to dance. After some encouragement from her big brother, she does so. But, The Fits, an illness causing seizures, is sweeping through the dance team. It has no lasting effects, but each with no lasting repercussions. Toni watches as all of her friends have a case of The Fits, and shae's slowly ostracized for now having one. It's a beautiful story of Mass Hysteria, but the interpretation is up to you on what it means.
This one is a family film. Tristian's mother wants him to be a future leader of society. Unfortunately they're surrounded by what can only be described as ghetto. Drug dealers, gangs, abuse and she sees the answer, The Boy Scouts. Everything goes well, until Tristian witnesses a murder and things get a little complicated. On the other end his mother loses her job and can't afford to keep him in boy scouts any longer, right as their big camping trip is coming up. But it all works out, in a mostly realistic way. I promise.
I'm only putting it as the last entry because this might not be the film for everyone. There's some heavy psychological themes at play as well as some classic horror going. But, if you're into watching man tangle with the devil, or what he thinks is the devil this one is for you. There will be some plot twists that will mess with your mind. But, the real joy comes in watching the tug of war between Satan and Dr. Ty Adams who play off each other wonderfully.
You can check out some of my fiction at 12 AM Fiction or follow my web serial Exsanguinate and of course hear me on the Powerbomb Jutsu podcast.
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I've scrolled by Luce about a thousand times already. I need to go on and watch it.
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