Georgia, Georgia

The great Diana Sands stars as a African American pop star with few political ideas, and no need for black-activist war deserters who want her voice for their cause--much to the dismay of the quietly seething white-hating Minnie Gentry. Georgia's mother-figure and companion fears for Georgia's soul--in every sense of the word. Written by Maya Angelou (but made on a low budget), this is a significant, powerfully radical movie-of-ideas in need of rediscovery. Limited runs on its release, it showed up briefly on video to, of all things, capitalize on the supporting performance of Dirk (Battlestar Gallactica) Benedict. Diana Sands should also check out the more readily available, The Landlord.

This film begins with an African American singer by the name of "Georgia Martin" (Diana Sands) arriving in Stockholm for a 3-day tour. With her is her manager "Herbert Thompson" (Roger Furman) and her personal assistant "Alberta Anderson" (Minnie Gentry). It is then learned that Georgia is extremely exhausted from the pace set for her by Herbert and she feels quite dissatisfied by her life in general. In particular, having grown up in the South, she wants nothing to do with the poverty and the lack of respect she received as a Black person. To that end, she thoroughly detests the Black culture from which she came. Alberta Anderson, on the other hand, not only embraces the Black culture, but does everything she can to steer Georgia away from anyone who isn't Black. Needless to say, this intensifies Georgia's feeling of loneliness and despair. Likewise, her need for a romantic relationship is not helped by the fact that Herbert happens to be gay. Things change, however, when a white photographer by the name of "Michael Winters" (Dirk Benedict) enters the scene and immediately catches Georgia's eye. Noticing this, Alberta becomes noticeably upset and goes to great difficulty to foster a relationship between her and a Black man named "Bobo" (Terry Whitmore) who--just like Michael--is a Vietnam War deserter. The problem is that there are serious implications in whatever decision she make-- and it's not just her happiness that is at stake. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a fairly interesting film due to a couple of key factors. The first factor revolves around the good performance by Diana Sands who play her part to near perfection. The second aspect had to do with the relatively unknown reality involving Sweden's acceptance of American deserters in the late 60's and early 70's. While Canada accepted both draft resisters and military deserters, there was a difference between the two groups and, quite often, those who deserted had less education and therefore more difficulty assimilating in their new environment. This was especially true for those who sought refuge in Sweden--and the character of Bobo reflects their plight quite well. Be that as it may, while I don't consider this to be a great film by any means, it does stand out to a certain extent and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

The late Diana Sands gives an intelligent performance in her quiet, vulnerable moments that comprise much of this very low-keyed, no-budget independent feature made in Stockholm; although she doesn't convince as the glossy, knock 'em dead diva the plot claims her to be.

The original screenplay by Maya Angelou predictably has plenty to say, some of it obscured by indistinct sound recording. Simmering away in the background, the character with most to say is Georgia's formidable travelling companion, Alberta Albertson, who as played by Minnie Gentry resembles Malcolm X reincarnated as Norman Bates's mother and guides the film towards its melodramatic conclusion.