The Passing

I am the Grandson of Welton B. Johnson and I am so proud of him and My Grandmother Gladys V. Johnson, they were poor people who happened upon the films maker, John Huckert while he was still a young film maker. This Movie won a Blue ribbon Award from the American Film Festival Awards in 1982. My grandfather was on hand at the festival to receive this award. The Actor who played my grandfather as a young Army Soldier was also the character "Choir Boy" in Robert Townsend's "The Five Heartbeats. I recommend this film highly because college professors still use it as a training aid in the case of elderly mental health issues. The movie was cut into a short film that has aired on PBS. CPL. Steven L.Jackson, USARNG, AKA "Slippery'son"

This film presents two seemingly unrelated narratives...one concerning a young death-row inmate awaiting his execution, the other centering on a pair of aging war buddies who are out of step with modern times and contemplating suicide. These characters merge for a bizarre and unexpected final curtain.

Despite the observable indicators of a piggy-bank budget, this is an interesting and unusual indie project. Don't expect a marvel of special effects magic or edge-of-your-seat action...this is a quiet, meditative, and curiously spiritual film focused more on the characters than the fantastical situation at hand. As spotty as it may be in execution, THE PASSING is a poignant, thoughtful effort which demands greater regard.

6/10

Astonishing, Spiritual, Compelling and full of humor and heart. Great performances by Welton Benjamin Johnson and James Plaster. Special thanks to Gladys Vivian Johnson beloved mother and wife. The great Matriarch, mother to all children and excellent homemaker.

It took me a while to realize that this was more than just an awful home movie about a widower and his never-married roomie getting old (maybe dying). We gradually learn a few things about them - like how they now happen to share the same house. Then there is that other part of the film, featuring clips of a young man committing a capital crime and preparing for execution - what's up with that??? Finally, it all comes together: one of the elderly gentlemen participates in a program to exchange his AGING body for the soon-to-be-deceased one. After the procedure, his friends don't recognize him and have difficulty believing his story. Most - if not all - of these people have probably never acted before, so we get the appearance of extremely poor, first-time-scripted behavior, along with all of the other elements of second-rate filmmaking. At the halfway point of this flick, my grade for it was a very low number. But that increased as the picture continued. The more that I think - or write - about it, the better I rate it. So, before I judge it improperly high, I'll stop.

Not the best film in the world. The lighting is poor, he acting wooden and the plot, although interesting is buried in a pile of ham-fisted direction. BUT, when you consider this film was made on a the sort of budget that would cover an assistant sparky's wages on a Tom Cruise movie using minimal equipment, by a bunch of part timers, you have to give them high marks for an ambitious effort that just manages to keep the right side of interesting from beginning to end.

Indeed there is enough art house style camera work, cleaver use of a 78 RPM soundtrack, and fairly natural dialogue to make the whole 90 minutes a worth while watch; provided you are able to over look the restrictions of the minute budget. Add in some blackly funny Stan and Ollie type moments, such as the suicide by gas cooker sequence, and the result is a film that has cult classic scrawled all over it.