futures-1

"Black Girl" ("Borom Sarret") (French/African, 1966): Read any book about film, and this one is cited as a GREAT work. Well folks, the King Has No Clothes. A brain-damaged college freshman could've done better. Here's what the STORY tried to be: an African woman is hired as a child caretaker in Africa, and later follows the French family to France to continue working for them. She doesn't like it. She complains a lot, thinks of herself as a slave, and eventually does something drastic. I'm telling you this isn't just a yawn... it is story full of plot holes, no character depth, no situational empathy (although I suspect viewers were EXPECTED to have strong feelings and side with the "poor girl"), continuity problems, and a motivational mess. That's not all. The movie has TERRIBLE camera work, crappy lighting, editing equal to a monkey with scissors, scoring that makes no sense and has no subtlety, acting that just plain stinks, location shots that are perhaps the worst I've ever seen… I'm simply ASTOUNDED at the kudos given this terrible mess of a lousy film. I can only surmise that in this case the "King has no clothes" Syndrome was the 1960's politically correct social agenda in the Euro/American sphere for recognizing black/white equal rights - which caused it to be held high for its (possible) intentions when in reality it deserved to be tossed in the garbage can as a failed attempt.

"Blast'em" (1992): This is a vanity documentary… which means the people who wanted to be documented had a documentary made about them. Pathetic, right? Well, NOT if you're them and you're THAT convinced you're deserving of more attention than anyone ever seems to give you and your "art". This is about some of the awful people who stalk stars and other faux news-worthy characters in Here Today / Gone Tomorrowland. Paparazzi. If YOU had a film made about you and your daily exploits but it showcased your whining, foul mouth, unprofessional and illegal behaviors, sneaky tricks, and self-centered self-righteousness, would YOU want it released to the public? I doubt it. But THAT is how ironically deluded and desperate these people were. They're long gone now, I'm sure. (I don't even have the urge to remember their names or Google them to see who rightfully died at the hands of a fed-up person who'd been violated once too many.)