The Passing

I am the Grandson of Welton B. Johnson and I am so proud of him and My Grandmother Gladys V. Johnson, they were poor people who happened upon the films maker, John Huckert while he was still a young film maker. This Movie won a Blue ribbon Award from the American Film Festival Awards in 1982. My grandfather was on hand at the festival to receive this award. The Actor who played my grandfather as a young Army Soldier was also the character "Choir Boy" in Robert Townsend's "The Five Heartbeats. I recommend this film highly because college professors still use it as a training aid in the case of elderly mental health issues. The movie was cut into a short film that has aired on PBS. CPL. Steven L.Jackson, USARNG, AKA "Slippery'son"

The Passing is a film without a plot, an experience with seemingly no end. The viewer is just as likely to be bombarded by documentary-style footage of two old men hanging around as he is to watch the grim torture of a rapist, or the psycho-tronic sounds and weird visions of medical instruments. To be honest, I really liked this movie, but I also found it pretty boring, so I would have to watch 15 minutes a day for about a week, watching it in small doses, like reading a chapter a day of a book. But I can't say I didn't find the whole experience mesmerizing. Not having any idea what this movie was about, I first thought it was going to be about demonology, or murder. The film takes its sweet time coming to any semblance of a plot, but even this aspect of the movie isn't handled in any obvious ways, but is rather interpreted by the viewer via sounds and feelings. Never is the plot really intelligible, but never is it really uninteresting either. I don't know what else to say about this movie but that the editing was excellent, the music excellent (both the contrasting 20's and 80's music samples and the scary-as-f88ck syntheziser song that drones through the whole thing) and the two old men were great actors. I really believed for the most part that they were just two old friends hanging out, and there was some documentary team following them around (and this movie was made far before the docudrama fad became cheesy). In fact, the only thing I didn't find so interesting about this movie was the plot, which seemed a little tagged on- but oh well. It's a shame that someone associated with this movie, the editor at least, didn't go on to greater recognition.

This film presents two seemingly unrelated narratives...one concerning a young death-row inmate awaiting his execution, the other centering on a pair of aging war buddies who are out of step with modern times and contemplating suicide. These characters merge for a bizarre and unexpected final curtain.

Despite the observable indicators of a piggy-bank budget, this is an interesting and unusual indie project. Don't expect a marvel of special effects magic or edge-of-your-seat action...this is a quiet, meditative, and curiously spiritual film focused more on the characters than the fantastical situation at hand. As spotty as it may be in execution, THE PASSING is a poignant, thoughtful effort which demands greater regard.

6/10

Ernie and Rose are two elderly men sharing a home. Friends for 40 years, they bicker, laugh, reminisce and discuss death. Wade is a young man arrested on a murder charge and facing execution. One day Ernie's and Wade's paths cross, leading to an extraordinary outcome...

This is a curious film, and quite an unlikely candidate for DVD release. Released in 1983, and apparently made on a very limited budget, the print quality is poor, and much of the secondary character acting is unimpressive, yet it's not without charm and fascination. Johnson and Plaster deliver quite captivating performances as the elderly friends - their suicide attempt scene is hilarious - and the overall ensemble has a strange, almost improvised quality.

Ultimately an uneasy mix of quirky character study, cheap production values and dated sci-fi, yet it's also rather sweet.

I came upon this movie by luck at a Fry's and it was re-released in a 4 movie horror collection entitled "Blood Thirst". The release date is 2003, around the time I discovered it. I had not watched this movie since I bought it, although I viewed two of the other films, both okay. So my sister and I popped it in the other night and we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. She complained a little of the pacing, which was not up to the standards of the modern small attention-spanned viewers. I loved the conversations of the two older men because they sounded natural, yet offbeat at the same time. The war reenactment scene was well done for any movie before CGI took over, in my opinion. There were some truly spooky scenes in the film that owe the emotion to the camera angles. I was also disconcerted with one powerful and graphic scene in particular that I didn't expect. There were other shocking bits as well near the ending as plot falls into place. Lastly I want to mention my love of the soundtrack. All oldies. One in particular, "Pussy cat Rag", is now a part of my internal soundtrack. Overall an excellent movie. I would recommend it to most anyone mature enough to handle some disturbing images. Science fiction fans might want to check this out too.