The Blood of Jesus

Perhaps it's best to think about "The Blood of Jesus" as a great piece of "naïve" art. The technique is primitive, but its content reveals to us the deep spirituality of the people portrayed--a kind of ethnographic study against a background of two contrasting (but maybe not so contrasting) musical forms: Negro Spirituals and swinging jive and blues.

The story plays out like a children's fairy tale, with the forces of righteousness and sinfulness given human form--and I must confess that,as an atheist, I sure dug the pleasures to be found at the night club more than the baptismal dunking in the river. Nonetheless, the feelings of rapture conveyed by the choir were so powerful that it had me and my atonal wife singing along with them and saying to myself: "Sinner Repent!." Ultimately deeply moving and strongly recommended.

This is a fascinating movie considering its origins and production. The movie itself is very amateur, like a bad student film, the tech specs laughably bad, editing as bad as anything you're likely to ever see, but all that is part of its charm. The value of this movie is in its historical value. This is the beginning of the black film industry. At the time this was made, blacks had little to no power in the film industry and racial segregation was the norm. With this void in the market, blacks took it upon themselves to make product for that market. This film feels like exactly what it is - the very beginning of an industry where novice people are creating their own market. As bad as it is on many levels, it has the same honesty and simplicity that gave us the Mississippi Delta blues and black gospel music. The result, though amateur, is surprisingly interesting and entertaining. It's also fun to watch what black Americans found entertaining in 1941. This is an important movie that needs to be viewed and preserved.

The jury that selects each year the National Film Registry is unpredictable: films as "The Blood of Jesus" merit to be rescued, for its anthropological value and for being a forerunner in the evolution of African-American cinema and filmmakers, but I have seen quite a few whose inclusion could only be justified by provincialism, as "Road to Morocco", "Lassie Come Home" and "Knute Rockne All American". In the religion fable "The Blood of Jesus", inspired by a poem by Langston Hughes and set within a black community in the South, a Baptist sister dies when she is accidentally shot by the shotgun of her atheist husband. She is then guided by an angel and tempted by the Devil in her post-mortem trip to Heaven, and goes off course into a couple of bars in the city, where she gets into trouble. It is true that the actors are amateurs, that the extras look directly to camera, and the dramaturgy is elementary. It is also true that the special effects and decors are poor, but it is clear that the film was chosen because it captured on film a few traits and manifestations of Americans of African descent, in which there is a way to do and say that is both spontaneous and naive, beyond the interference of camera, lights and technicians. The baptism in the river, the dance in the city bar, the gospel hymns sung by the choir in the dying woman's room, the costumes of the angel and the Devil (out of a costume party for children), and the Devil himself playing the piano with a band, compensate and amuse (sometimes unintentionally) for a pious tale, full of praises to the "All Mighty Lord", with an African-American sister that has to choose between the road to Heaven and the road to Zion (!), and even including the literal blood of Jesus to set her free.

BLOOD OF Jesus must be judged within its own very special context, and not by current commercial cinematic standards. In its own context, BLOOD OF Jesus is not only an important cultural document but a compelling and great film. Yes, its production values seem crude and its performances rudimentary, though wholly sincere; it must be remembered that the budget was of necessity very low and that the actors had little experience or access to theatrical training).

But the artistry of the director, Spencer Williams, shouldn't be underestimated: his sophisticated layering of symbols and imagery (from Protestant, Catholic, and Yoruba religious tradition) and his priceless snapshot of African-American life and culture at a crucial juncture is not just eye-opening but enjoyable. And the music is authentic and first-rate.

Fabulous, in more than one sense of that word. A unique and wonderful film. Angels and other visions float in and out of a surreal Southern landscape. The acting is perfectly suited to what is clearly a director's film. The music includes lots of downhome spirituals, and some blues and jazz. The vaudeville scene, with that contortionist woman, is something else. The swing dancing in the jook joint also is terrific. The story is felt more than told. High artistry -- I might have to see it a few more times to really understand it. It also is marvelous to consider what Williams must have gone through to finance and make and promote and distribute this film. True art has a way of getting made and getting out there, somehow.