All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

When creating a film that's best described as experimental, ambition goes a long way toward the fulfillment of that goal. However, it's not enough to carry the project if it doesn't have something meaningful or profound to say in the end product, and that, unfortunately, is what's missing from the premiere effort from poet Raven Jackson in her writing/directing feature debut. This offering is perhaps best characterized as a visual tone poem examining the decades-long life of an African-American woman in rural Mississippi from childhood to becoming a grandmother. It's light on narrative and seeks to tell its story visually, relying more on showing than telling, a noble undertaking, to be sure. Nevertheless, the picture leans on its imagery so heavily that it often fails to convey anything of real substance, despite its visual beauty and some obviously heartfelt sequences in which the principals' emotions are indeed palpable and affecting. In between, though, the sequences begin to feel padded after a while, striving to capture profound insights through events that are too innately incidental to express anything truly enlightening, reflective or philosophically rich. Instead, it offers viewers a biographical look at one individual's ties to the people, places and everyday events that made up her life, a depiction that, regrettably, plays more like a home movie with arthouse treatment. This is perhaps best exemplified by a nearly 10-minute sequence of a hug that, frankly, grows stunningly tedious in far less time than that. I suspect that these shortcomings probably arise from the filmmaker being too close to her own subject matter, given that many of the characters in this story are based on the lives of people from her own family and ancestors. Those elements may be deeply moving to her, but they don't translate into material that would mean much to those outside her own immediate circle. With that said, however, this release is not without its merits, most notably its gorgeous cinematography and beautiful original score. Beyond that, though, "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt" is likely to try the patience of many viewers, including those willing to give a chance to its attempt at an alternative inventive approach. This truly feels more like a film or art school project than something that would appeal to even the most ardent of diehard open-minded cinephiles. And that's unfortunate, because I'm sure there's an interesting story buried somewhere within this material. Sadly, it never surfaces but remains camouflaged in its own artistic trappings.

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt" is a story about a decades-spanning exploration of a woman's life in Mississippi and an ode to the generations of people, places, and ineffable moments that shape us. This is an A24 project and the film contains very little dialogue throughout the film. While the film does have it's uneven moments when it came to pacing, the film still worked because of the poetic style narrative, beautiful visuals and the performances from the cast members. Director Raven Jackson clearly showcases her talents when it comes to visual storytelling as she was able to capture the Mississippi lifestyle for black individuals.

Throughout, the film has gorgeous camerawork as shots of homes, the woods, the environment and community feels nature and realistic. Many of the color patterns and sound designs were great as it reminded me of some Terrence Malick and Andrei Tarkovsky style of filmmaking. Many of the performances were pretty good particular a scene where two individuals were confronting each other regarding with loss and sadness.

The structure of the film is non-linear storytelling and Jackson does a pretty good job on structuring the story to become interesting. Although there were some pacing issues halfway as certain moments felt like they drag a little too long. The characters while have their charm, some of the character could have been focused and developed more and some dialogue moments did feel a little awkward at times. But those problems didn't fully affect the experience of watching this because of Jackson's visual storytelling and direction helps the film to become engaging.

This isn't a film for everyone as many will find it be very boring. It's more of an art house piece and I frankly enjoyed it. It's not the best film from A24 but undeniably beautiful.

Rating: B.

"You want to know a secret? It doesn't end or begin. Just changes form."

A quiet, poetic experience that's more about feeling than plot. It's the kind of film that moves slowly and speaks through textures, glances, and memory rather than dialogue. Visually stunning and emotionally raw, even if it won't be for everyone. It takes its time, but if you're in the right headspace, it definitely leaves a mark.

Once in a while, a film comes along that is inspiring and an example of fine story telling. All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt is not one of them. While it runs a tad over 90 minutes it seems a lot longer. I saw it at the Melbourne International Film Festival where we were invited by the emcee to 'let it wash over you'. Goodness me. I had to work hard to not drown in the many, many shots that seemed to last forever, and which were in semi darkness. Largely unhampered by a coherent script or storyline, this movie had a lovely soundscape of bugs chirruping, raIn and storms, but for me that was it. Once your mind is overcome with trying to figure out what is happening and switches to 'How long has this to go?' mode, all is lost. A number of people left, some quite early, and many more didn't wait for the director's talk at the end. Needless to say I was one of them. A movie should be able to stand on its own legs and not need explanation. Life's too short.

I just couldn't for the life of me understand why the director would choose to shoot most, if not all, scenes in such a close up fashion. And then have that very annoying cricket sound in the background of almost all the scenes. It was soooooo irritating. Then you have scenes where no word is spoken for so long, you thought the movie had ended. Then you had the non-lineal approach which just made things worse. Half the time you don't know what you are watching because of the useless close ups and then half the time, you didn't know what's going on because no one is saying anything. Ridiculous.