Mario Van Peebles puts together a partial documentary and partial re-enactment of the making of the film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, the 1971 film directed by his father Melvin. Mario plays the role of his father here and we are taken into the world of independent film-making, presumably before such a thing existed. Van Peebles nearly funds the entire film himself, avoiding obstacles put up by SAG and the very real role expectations for black actors. When he finally runs out of money, he hits up Bill Cosby for a loan and finished production, only to find that distribution and an audience were nearly as hard to find. I like watching the backside of film-making, especially here where we also get a view of race relations in the late 60's. Sure this film comes with a point of view, but it is good to see that point of view, and a good reminder of all the crap that was (and still is) going on in my lifetime. And I am now curious to see the original...
3 stars (out of 5)
No comments:
Post a Comment