Killer of Sheep

Stan works in drudgery at a slaughterhouse. His personal life is drab. Dissatisfaction and ennui keep him unresponsive to the needs of his adoring wife, and he must struggle against influences which would dishonor and endanger him and his family.

Film critic Dana Stevens describes the film's plot as "a collection of brief vignettes which are so loosely connected that it feels at times like you're watching a non-narrative film." There are no acts, plot arcs or character development, as conventionally defined.

What happens in this film is not a documentary, but in many ways it may as well be. How many films really focus on the black community anywhere at any point in time? Very few. And this one does that, in all its gritty and glamorless reality.

This film was written,directed,produced,etc. by a UCLA film student in 1973, but only given a brief run in theaters four years later, after which was plunked back in the can to sit on a shelf for nearly 30 years. I just had the opportunity to see this grainy, kitchen sink black & white film at one of my local art cinemas. I admired the visual look of this film (very do it yourself), and admired the concept of an ensemble piece ('tho without the use of Altmanesque over lapping). I admit, I found some of the dialouge unintelligible (due to the poor recording of the soundtrack---I'm guessing who ever operated the microphone picking up dialouge didn't have much experience in this field). The use of music in this film was well implemented (which ranges from classical to soul to blues and beyond). 'Killer Of Sheep' is a flawed, but none the less, watchable film that should be viewed by any & all serious film fanatics (and should also be screened during Black History Month, as a timeline of creative black cinema).

The movie takes place in the darkness of the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. We are introduced to the endless days of those living in this black neighborhood. The main character works in a slaughterhouse, killing and butchering sheep. It is day to day drudgery. He is trying to feed his family, but it is obvious he is never going to achieve happiness. The children lead pointless lives, throwing rocks at each other, fighting, going nowhere. There are drug dealers and people with no direction. But they survive in body only. This is a really sad film. Some have complained that it has no plot. Well, the plot is the day to day existence and hopelessness of the people portrayed. The sheep are those who are trapped and try and die. Harsh film.

For the life of me I wonder what prompted the people at the London Film Festival to screen this film at the NFT.

Filmed sometime in the 70s in Black & White it's the story of a family told over maybe two days and is strangely compelling.

There's no typically Afro-American Urban film scenes just a story about a family and what do. Children play games, dad goes to work and mum looks after the home, an everyday story of life. But don't let that put you off because the film really draws you in somehow. It features a great soundtrack of tunes taken from the 30/40s and some strange (to my mind) editing.

Do try and see this film if it's at a Festival near you because you too will be drawn into it as I was.

Weirdly Wonderful Film.

Black Narcissus

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=14198203

Before writing this review, I read the four comments that were already posted- by tvspace, zumlinz, seabiscuit, and bartman. Their ratings ranged from two stars to ten stars, and one reviewer here (in addition to Manhola Dargis of the NY Times) hailed it as a masterpiece.

After viewing the film this afternoon at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village, I have to say that all four reviewers have valid points about the film.

It certainly has an "amateur" feel to it, including the acting of some of the smaller roles, as one of the previous reviewers pointed out. But I found much that was beautiful about it, and saw a sort of perfection in its lack of polish- polish and formula that is so commonplace today in not only big studio pictures, but many independent films as well.

While certainly not about "nothing," it does lack a conventional narrative, as was pointed out previously as well. But it is this absence of an obvious agenda (other than to portray typical, everyday life in Watts from the point of view of one family) that allows the film to work so well as a loosely structured, poetic slice of life. It is an amazing mood piece, and it made me feel quite sad. Yet there was humor, warmth, and hope scattered throughout the generally melancholy film.

I think this is the kind of film that will effect people differently, as is already evident from the first four reviews. If you don't catch this film in the theater this time around, it will be available on DVD in the fall and is well worth watching. Nowadays it seems to be in vogue with hotshot filmmakers to recreate the specific,unique look of older films, using all sorts of advanced technology to turn back the clock. Here's a chance to see the real deal-something raw and authentic from a talented filmmaker as he emerged.