Milk and Honey

Another in a series of immigrant culture shock dramas tells the old familiar story in a Jamaican accent, and takes a more serious (than expected) approach to the material. Co-writer Trevor Rhone is regarded in his own country as the West Indian equivalent of Neil Simon or Sam Shepard, and while it's an unlikely comparison a little of each can perhaps be seen in his story of a proud but penniless Jamaican woman seeking employment as a foreign domestic in Toronto, only to find it not a land of milk and honey but of compromise and diminished expectations. A troubled reunion with her estranged young son calls down the wrath of immigration officials (always the villain in this type of story), changing what began as a fish-out-of-water drama into a tense and sometimes clever escape and evasion thriller. Don't expect anything deep or complicated, just solid, unpretentious filmmaking marred only by an unnecessary happily-ever-after epilogue.

After decades of searching online, boot fairs, charity shops and asking random strangers, I managed to finally find this childhood favourite of ours. The feeling of finding it filled me with an intense feeling of euphoria over the anticipated nostalgia to finally watch it on Tuesday 20th August 2024 again after about 30 years. (BFI archives in Stephen Street, London).

Sadly, it was a letdown. I'm guessing it was good for it's time? I am clueless as to why or how I revered it so much as a kid. There are no themes a child could relate to or glean from it really, yet even as an adult now, the movie was a very lacklustre experience in almost all respects bar maybe the soundtrack. The scenes in Jamaica are real and a rare glorious snapshot in time with the likes of Volier Johnson (Maffy) and Ann-Marie Fuller (Puncie).

Most won't be able to get their hands on this film so I'll sum it up. Joanna Bell, a young Jamaican mother (played by Josette Simon) travels to Toronto taking a job as a nanny for a rich couple in the hope of permanently immigrating to Canada. She later calls for her (pretty intelligent) son David and tries to smuggle him in illegally with the help of his new headteacher. They fail and are deported back. The headteacher then joins them shortly after.

There's an awkward semi-fling that develops between her and the teacher; one of her friends lashes her son; her employers rip her off with some pay and she engages in some tiresome colloquialisms with her girlfriends as filler. That's pretty much it.

Erm, there isn't much else to say about it really. Glad I got it out of my system; it was a life achievement but no need for me to watch it again. I'll just re-read this review.