Jones Plantation

The vast majority of people just won't understand this film as they can't see that they themselves are slaves.

As the famous quote from The Matrix so effectively put it 'You have to understand. Most people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured and so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.'

The Jones Plantation is an excellent film that articulates the illusion of democracy and the desire of most people to abdicate responsibility for their own lives to someone else.

Given the tiny budget, I thought the quality of the film was still good and some of the acting, in particular Mr Smith, was excellent.

The importance of the message that this film is trying to convey is profound. It is the root source of most wars, poverty and corruption that we see in the world today. Sadly most people just don't get it or even want to get it. They are blissfully living their comfortable lie.

The Jones Plantation Credits (JPCs) is a nice touch and demonstrates in a very simple way how all fiat currencies are worthless pieces of paper that can be created at will and in unlimited quantities by the powerful. Also the creation of debt as a method of control is cleverly incorporated.

Finally the use of fear as an effective method of coercion is demonstrated multiple times throughout the film. There is always some bogeyman just around the corner who is going to get you and so you need the plantation owner to protect you.

Well done to the producers of this film. Let's hope that in some small way it moves us towards a more free and peaceful world.

This film may be the best social and political commentary I've seen in a long time. Covers any number of themes relevant to American history and I can see it being presented in social studies classes for years to come. It's well worth watching for that alone.

As a film, it tends to drag a bit. There's lots of long discussions and speeches to get to the social and political statements they wish to make. In general movies tend to work a bit better when they show things through storytelling than through long drawn out dialogs.

Acting performances are mixed. Some of them are great, others fall a bit short of the emotional impact needed to get the points across and some of the writing leaves some characters as cliches.

The other thing that I found bothersome was the soundtrack. A lot of it seems to be canned music that's just dropped in at odd points and doesn't blend well between parts. The music choices often seemed to not fit well with what's happening in the scene.

But again this is a pretty powerful film that's for the most part well presented.

Okay. Just to get it out of the way, this is a low budget production. Obviously so. The most distracting areas this popped up for me were with the music and some of the editing and staging of scenes. Some reviewers have talked about the acting, but I really didn't notice too many issues there.

If you just can't watch low budget movies, then maybe you should avoid. I think that'd be a shame though because this movie has a lot to offer in terms of social commentary, though they do go over the top at times spelling it out for the audience.

My 8/10 is for the commentary being offered and the interesting idea of exploring it in this specific time period. I was hooked from start to finish, despite elements that, in other productions, might have made me stop watching.

I subtracted 2 points for the distracting score, some awkward/jarring choices with regard editing and scenes, and for not trusting your audience to make the connection, feeling you had to spell it out constantly.

I wouldn't normally want to watch any modern movies about slavery. Roots is/was the gold standard for that subject much like Exorcist or Jaws are in their genres. Any attempts to match the success of those iconic masterpieces usually end up in the dustbin of film history.

Most slavery movies use the depiction of physical punishment on the slaves to evoke emotions. The monotonous desperate life of a slave is rarely the subject. What does it take for a human to wake up everyday and go about his day knowing his life is no better than a beast of burden? This movie offers an angle that I've not seen before. A full on perspective from the slave owners' side as well as the hired consultant Mr. Smith, a former slave himself.

I was "sold" on this movie once it was clear that Mr. Smith's agenda was beginning to take shape. I hung on every piece of dialogue between Smith and Jones. Instead of just feeling sorry for the slaves I had this nagging idea that we are all trapped much like the slaves. We are all in the Matrix!

Obviously, this film has a message in which both left and right leaning viewers would cast the other side as the evil slave owners. Both would be correct since we are in fact willfully trapped in the mental slavery system. We rather blame each other instead of the ones holding the reins. We are grateful for the leftovers when we haven't eaten in days. We follow their mandates without question. Well done!!

I would have given this a 10 if the overall acting was better. Some scenes were flat and not convincing. Maurice Johnson as Mr. Smith deserves an Oscar nomination if I had any say about it. This is a movie that I may watch again which is rare.

There is trouble on the plantation. The slaves are becoming restless. The jig is up and the owners are fearing they will lose the farm, or worse. So, with the help of Mr. Smith, the owners forge stronger, more diabolical, chains.

It is hard to tell people about things they cant see. This movie makes it crystal clear. If those without eyes still cant see what is enslaving them after this film, then they are blind by choice. At the very least, THE VERY LEAST, this film is a conversation starter. Not many movies are even that nowadays. I recommend watching this film at least once. Its awesome to see what can be done with a $50,000 budget.