Slam

Fantastic performances, a good story and interesting photography make Slam a very good movie; realism makes it a great one. I was in awe of the utter authenticity of the people, the situations, the energies in this film. I was suitably impressed by the emotions expressed and how effective it all was, for essentially a minimalist message (the odds are stacked against young black males in the inner cities) but even more impressed once I listened to the commentary on the DVD. I highly recommend you get your hands on the disc, and listen to the commentary after watching the film. Sure, it's a bit too self-congratulatory ("what a beautiful shot!" [it was only "nice"]) but the insight on the people involved--the writers, actors, poets... adds an incredible amount of depth to the experience.

To quickly generalize: if you appreciate Spike Lee's work, you'll probably like Slam. Although Spike might be a little upset that a white Jewish director brought this to film :-)

Without Saul Williams this film could not have been made. Its as if it was tailor made for William's awesome rapping talents without which the film would be pointless.

This film is definitely a milestone in black cinema. Its fresh, breathtaking, original, powerful and 'takes no prisoners' (mind the pun).

And a couple of word about the soundtrack - the ever excellent DJ Spooky takes the credits combining the most powerful hip hop outfits around, to create an intensive soundtrack which completes this film and leaves you open jawed.

This movie is responsible for a lot of things and after finally seeing it I now know why. What it lacks in polished film making it more than makes up for in honesty, passion and ambition. From the performances through to the writing and cinematography everything is raw and beautiful and vibrant with life in a way that we never see in Hollywood films. And I'll be damned if the subject isn't poetry and how it exists in and what it makes of real life. How it is real life. In many aboriginal cultures there is no separate category for art that differentiates it from the rest of life and this movie hearkens back to that cultural tradition. A young Saul Williams defines his life, takes action, heals himself and saves others through his poetry. All of the acting is fresh and real but Saul Williams and Sonia Sohn especially shine, as they should. There is something real going on that is being captured here and the rest of America better know what it is.

In the remarkable racial film Slam by Mark Levin shows firsthand how other forces define us. In the movie a young man named Ray Joshua gets caught up in this stereotypical generation, while gang violence and drug dealing causes Ray to become another statistic in his society. This inspirational tale lets the viewer see how people in different surroundings can be faulted so easily based on their race, neighborhood, and level of threat to society. Ray makes the best of it when he stumbles upon a passion for slam poetry which changes his whole perspective on life.

When Ray participates in a drug deal gone bad and is arrested for possession of a controlled substance and suspicion of homicide, he starts to realize the odds of him fighting this and winning his freedom back is slim to none. While in jail he is defined as a typical African American drug dealer but he begins to fight back when he finds a way to resolve a fight between to gangs by blessing them with his free written poetic rap which talks about the forces that try define him. Ray fights back and attempts to change the way he lives his life by trying to end the revenge between the people that shot his friend in a drug deal gone bad. Not even the violence can define Ray as he uses his imagination to express all his feelings through poetry. He begins to go down the right path when he gets out of jail and does everything in his power to live above society's definition of him and try to better his surroundings. He does this when he stands up to his enemies and explains that revenge is pointless and they should just squash their beef.

Extra Credit One theme I saw replay itself in the movie is how the public views people like Ray and how these people fall right into societies trap because it's the only way they know. Nobody expects for these Washington D.C. punks to ever grow out of the ghetto and make something better of themselves. Ray really proves his society wrong when he shows everyone that he can be a good person and he expresses this through his poetry which opens up a whole new group of people who teach him the typical or expected way isn't always the way to go. Society views Ray and his community as "public enemies number one" because everyone assumes they will all just become drug dealers or killers and end up in jail. This is a horrible stereotype that is seen everywhere in the world and can define the people in the ghetto. It takes a strong man to live above this definition and try to make something better of himself.

My favorite part in this movie is when Ray attempts to stop or delay a fight about to break out in the jail yard. I loved this part because anyone can write a poem and make it rhyme, but it takes a strong motivated individual to use his poetry as a way to make people think about the decisions they make and ultimately put a stop to a deadly situation. I can relate to when Ray was meeting with his public defender and he was given the ultimatum of either going to trial and fear losing or pleading guilty for less time even if he was guilty. When I was in eighth grade I worked at a concession stand at a football field where I was accused of stealing money. I denied stealing the money and I was told either I admit to stealing the money and giving it back or they were going to call the cops. I told them to call the cops because I knew I was innocent. About a week later I got a call from the woman who runs the concession stand and she explained that another worker and her own son had admitted to stealing the money. I felt helpless when I was given an ultimatum because I realized that when people don't believe you, you could be paying the consequences for another person's wrong doing. I could tell that Ray felt helpless and trapped in between two negative outcomes. This film sends the viewers a message that if you don't try to better yourself from the people around you, then you will fall into societies definition of a typical ghetto troublemaker. I would recommend this film because it urges the importance of living above what's expected of you and I think a lot of young kids these days don't realize that.

The best films, in my opinion, are those which challenge your conventions and beliefs and really make you think. Slam did that in Spades. I was completely lost in it. The cinema-verite style (the film was shot remarkably like a documentary) completely drew me in. Slam will stick with me for a long time to come.

Also, anyone who knows Washington, D.C. will recognize that this was a great use of D.C. as the setting for a movie. Usually D.C. is used as just a pretty backdrop, but in this movie you saw real sites like the Projects of Southeast and Capitol Hill's Eastern Market, and recognized that D.C. is a city of real people and not just a place aliens blow up.