Origin

This movie is beautiful and powerful. It is biopic about the author of the book Caste - which is a nonfiction book about the Caste system and how it is still used today to dehumanize and subjugate people. As she writes and researches the book she makes discoveries along the way as she makes trips to Germany and India to dig into the connections between slavery in America, the people once called the "Untouchables" in India, and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. It is hard to watch sometimes because it isn't afraid to out the acts of injustice right in your face. Is it subtle? No. Is it half documentary - sometimes with people writing on white boards while reading you sections of a book - yes. It's not a regular "movie" - it's something different than what you're used to. But if you're not moved by it I don't know what's wrong with you. It's like a biopic crossed with a documentary that isn't afraid to feel or sympathize.

Ava DuVernay's Origin isn't a conventional biopic. It's the story of Isabel Wilkerson's (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor's) intellectual journey as she writes her ground-breaking book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, published in 2020. We see Wilkerson grapple with personal loss while meticulously researching and weaving together the insidious threads of racism that bind seemingly disparate historical events-American slavery, the Holocaust, and India's caste system.

The film's greatest strength lies in its ambition. It tackles weighty themes without shying away from unflinching honesty. Brutal historical reenactments punctuate Wilkerson's personal journey, forcing us to confront the ugly truths about humanity's capacity for cruelty. This approach can feel jarring at times, but it undeniably leaves a mark.

Origin stumbles a bit in its execution. The narrative structure can be disjointed, jumping between timelines and locations. While this reflects Wilkerson's own intellectual process, it sometimes left me feeling a tad disoriented. The film also leans heavily on dialogue, with some scenes feeling overly didactic. Think history lesson, not edge-of-your-seat thriller.

That said, the acting is uniformly strong. Ellis-Taylor delivers a powerhouse performance, capturing Wilkerson's unwavering determination and vulnerability with equal measure. The supporting cast, including Connie Nielsen as a sceptical German intellectual, adds depth to the exploration of these complex issues.

Visually, Origin is mostly a muted affair. The colour changes for present, flashbacks, historical events, and fictionalised episodes. The camerawork is steady and unobtrusive, putting the focus squarely on the characters and their stories. The score, a blend of melancholic strings and understated percussion, complements the emotional weight of the film.

While Origin doesn't quite reach the heights of DuVernay's best work, it's still a compelling and thought-provoking film. It's a film that will stay with you, prompting reflection and perhaps even uncomfortable conversations.

Origin isn't easy to watch. It's a movie that demands your attention and confronts you with uncomfortable truths. But if you're up for a challenging and ultimately rewarding cinematic experience, then this film is worth your time. Just be prepared to grapple with some heavy material.

I just happened upon this movie as I usually do with movies. I was so delightfully surprised. What an important issue to cast light upon. Casting was perfect. This is definitely an intelligent watch. The producer/directors did not need to get flashy to get their point across, instead, they did it with great writing/screenplay and some gut wrenching moments. I love the intelligent conversations that were had by the characters as well as the flashbacks of the characters who were extremely affected by the caste system. I highly recommend this for anyone who is looking to learn something and also watch a good movie.

In February 2012 teenager Trayvon Martin was assaulted and killed on his way home from the convenience store because he looked suspicious. A black female author was asked to write an article, presumably to address what many considered simple racism, Martin was killed because he was black.

Instead she decided to look deeper, a lot deeper. Including traveling abroad. The research for her eventual book, upon which this movie is based, led her to examine the caste system which is present in many forms across many civilizations.

Definition: Caste - a social hierarchy that assigns a person or group a social class or standing based on their ancestry and ideas of "purity" and "pollution". It's a traditional practice that's rooted in the political, social, cultural, and economic structures of some religions or cultures. In Hinduism, castes are hereditary social classes that limit the occupations of their members and their interactions with other castes.

Clearly this does not separate people by race or skin color but by long-standing prejudices. In the USA the caste system assigned blacks, most of whom are direct descendants of slaves, to a lower standing. Even in my own lifetime I recall businesses having a separate entrance for blacks, separate water fountains, separate schools, and many hotels prohibited blacks from staying there. In this movie an incident is depicted where a little league baseball team with only one black kid goes to a community pool to celebrate their victory and the black kid is not allowed to swim. The pool manager says something to the effect that if he were to jump in, the pool would have to be closed and disinfected.

A good bit of time is also spent in India where the caste system is still very strict and those in the lowest of the social order have to clean cesspools by hand and have no hope of ever rising above that.

A very interesting and thought-provoking movie. My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.

Great movie but the author and/or director completely forgot or ignored the plight and treatment native Americans from them caste hypothesis/equation, Seriously!? Why?

I would think Native Americans should have given some sort acknowledgment from origin standpoint as they were first to be "casted" prior to African Americans.

I haven't read the book, but the movie does feel like abrupt in trying to connect and transition amongst different story lines or historical situations.

Then summarization in the end is just beautifully done. But movies felt too dense and compact in terms of content as the authors personal life events and challenges were being tried to intertwined hit socially and racial complexities.