Black Boy Joy is a Phenomenal film. I heard about it long before I got to see it. So when I saw it on HBO max at 4am in the morning, on a Saturday night, I had to watch it. Right off the bat, some of the best cinematography and shot blocking I've seen in the last five years. The acting is on point, flawless, and the directing is a masterful home run. The themes and emotions are complex and impactful. Handled exquisitely. The structural framing of the narrative is textbook perfect. One set location, Three characters. Protagonist, Antagonist, main character. The house itself and another two objects also become another character, in and of themselves as well the more and more the film proceeded to its graceful and genius finish. This short sticks the landing tenfold. A very subtle creative choice at the end along with it's execution, threads the needle so powerfully that it makes me confidently say that Martina is a prodigal film talent. A very impactful and resonate film that is spiritual and powerful. It deals with generational dynamics, family, as well as duty, grief, loss, forgiveness, identity, tradition, beliefs, and acceptance. Autism, motherhood and fatherhood, friendship, discipline, and the nature of life. A situational piece that is "a snap shot" or "moment in the life of" type of dynamic. Drawing it's strength in showcasing the aftermath of an off screen inciting incident among three generations of me and the loss of the family matriarch. I am speechless. A treasure of a film. A must see. DO NOT MISS THIS FILM. I feel blessed to have caught it and what a wonderful 17 minutes. This is what film is about. This is the magic I feel in love with when I first saw a film at 10 yrs old. Martina thank you! Thank you for letting me bare witness to movie Magic once again in my life. To anyone that hasn't seen this yet, I cannot stress enough how much you will love this film. If you are a lover of film then you have to watch Black Boy Joy. Words cannot express how great this film is or how it makes the difficult seem so easy. This is filmmaking at the highest mountain peak. It doesn't get much better than this. I cannot wait to see Martina's next work. This one will be on repeat. Every once in a decade a filmmaker comes around that is a generational talent. I truly belief that Martina proves, with this film, that she is a generational talent. What an amazing accomplishment! Thank you!
