Ashes and Embers

This was shown in TMC, so I guessed it must have sone redeeming quality, despite being a cacophonous and eye wounding melange of noise and colour, I almost abandoned it after my ears were beset by the sound of men and women screaming ( no apparent reason for this) followed me sone guy yelling " rape me" and the N-word. There is a story of sorts but so much of the dialogue is either mumbled or drowned out by flute music that it was unclear what was being said. Some ofvthe rare unaccompanied dialogue revealed that the story was a vehicle fir cliches which were tired long before this film was made. The protagonist is struggling with it seems, PTSD. It's nice ndiqgnosed and untreated after eight years. His girl has a huge chip on her shoulder, or maybe a bag of them.the flashbacks to Vietnam show peasants under great stress, however, because this is actual footage, not re-enactments, it emphasizes how faux a lot of the protagonists supposed problems are. This film originally got no distribution, but after seeing it I'm not at all surprised as it's one of the least commercial and dullest films I can remember. It's the sort of stuff that people who would never walk out on a film, would walk out of. The politics expressed are more 70's than 80's, endless rants about " the man". It was not clear what the point was, but it took too long to realize " you've been took".

Ava du Vernay introduced this movie on TCM, and she made me interested in it and the school of black film making it's part of. It's a very experimental movie, and through its use of sound and images tries to put the viewer inside the head of a black Vietnam veteran trying to get back to the business of living in early 1980s America.

As you can probably guess, that business isn't easy. It wasn't easy for any Vietnam vets, but then add the additional burden of being a black man, and there you have it. I can appreciate the motives behind this movie and I think film lovers have an obligation to watch one or two like it. I mean here in 2019 a lot of us are still complaining about the lack of minority voices in film, and here was a whole movement driven by black artists about the black American experience. But it's not at all an entertaining or even comfortable experience. It's not supposed to be, and maybe it's not asking that much of me to devote two hours to this, which I did. But boy was it a long two hours. I have nothing but empathy for this particular Vietnam vet, but his head is a very monotonous place to be.

Grade: C

The previous reviewer calls this the worst movie ever? Possibly he has forgotten that this is about what war can do and has done to the countless people who have the horrors of war taken a toxic hold upon their every being. This movie should be seen as that and I think the cinematic style and the sharp, harsh soundtrack is perfect to enhance the life that they have left for them. It's not pretty, it's not something that was shown in the Lilly white parts of America like where I come from and that's part of why we are where we are now in America. To me, this and other films like the original Shaft and the classic In The Heat of the Night speak to the reality of the African Americans and the plight their children and grandchildren are facing today. I for one thank Ted Turner and TCM for saving these films for us to see and be reminded of, for all time.

As a combat Veteran of the Vietnam war, I can honestly say this is the worse Vietnam related movie I have ever seen. Mercy, I served with many brave African American soldiers and I know many of them would be totally confused about this movie. The side effects of war has no color and the actors in this film were terrible. They were so bad, this site could not even find a profile picture to use in the cast credits. That is bad on bad. I kept looking for a zero under the, rate this... section.

What an amazing film!! Way ahead of its time, and surely ahead of our current times. Hard to understand why there are no other film reviews on this site. Maybe it's just difficult to find a viewing. I happened to stumble on it the other night on TCM. This is a powerful story told by a brilliant story teller, Haile Gerima, acted by a brilliant cast of actors, including unforgettable performances by John Anderson as Ned Charles / Grandson, and Evelyn Blackwell as Grandma. Fact is the entire cast is awesome. It's the harrowing story of a young black who returns home after fighting in Vietnam, who comes back comes back with a severe case of PSTD in the midst of a racist and exploitative country that doesn't give a wit about his service, his health, or his well being. A tough road to hoe, even though he has many folks who care about him and try to offer support and guidance. A very tough film to watch because it's a story that still resonates today. Brilliant writing, filmmaking and acting. Highly recommend for film connoisseurs and those interested in social and economic justice.