Burning Cane

I absolutely loved this movie. Very well done. I felt left hanging at the finale, however. Can anyone tell me who Helen shot at the end? It's driving me crazy'

I watched this film because I'm a big fan of Wendell Pierce. I think he's an incredible actor who's talent is underutilized. Whereas Mr. Pierce's talent shone through in this film, the film itself was murky. It was slow; the film was poorly lit; the message too be conveyed, if there was a message, was absent from the film; and the writing seemed unsteady. I feel like I wasted my 78 minutes on characters who were not likeable and who were extremely detached from each other and from the film. This film was over-hyped and a waste of time, and I can't help but think that the critics raved over the film because it presented yet another set of black folks who were downtrodden, addicted to a substance, and self-pitying.

Burning Cane - I have followed this movie ever since Ava DuVernay (director of When They See Us / Selma) mentioned it on her Instagram. Her company Array Now would inevitable distribute it on Netflix, who Ava has sustained a good working relationship with.

The film has been successfully screening both in the US and UK and has mostly mixed reviews. However, being a fan of independent films, I found this film to be quite intriguing. I found its characters relatable to most families today. I found its subject matter to be quite profound. Althought, at times, different decisions could have been made with the placement of the camera, it is the humble beginnings of a director who is bound to go far.

The films director, a 19 year old Phillip Youmans demonstrates his ability to tell a story without the need for flashy cars and over the top CGI.. The film is anything but that. It is a simple story at heart. Youmans also shows his ability to make a movie without the need of a major studio backing him, although this is where he is headed next.

After winning the top prize at the Tribeca film festival, many people came out with mixed feelings for the film. Many even went as far as to say the film is boring and amateurish. I however, disagree. If you're interested in how a story can be and should be told, then you'll enjoy this. If not, im sure theres a screening of some franchise film playing somewhere you can waste your money on.

Independent film, at its core is about human emotion, disasters, pain, grief, suffering, loss, happiness and love. Youmans showcases this in his film BURNING CANE.

The reason for my score is purely based on Youmans decisions for camera placement and at times, a fluctuating audio level.

A solid effort from a director who is about to become noticed.

...it's dark (did the DP leave his thumb over the iPhone camera?), somewhat incomprehensible, rather boring and obviously a freshman effort.

The actors' performances are very strong, but the film literally lulled me to sleep.

The gushing over the young director (okay, he made the film in high school, rah, rah, rah) and existence of 20+ Marvel Cinematic Universe "films" may indicate the end of civilization is near.

Suppose it was time for "Beasts of the Southern Wild 2," because this is it. That film was much more interesting.

This is definitely not the worst movie I have ever seen! But it definitely moves very slowly with a depressing storyline that is very difficult to follow. An hour in, frankly, I'm still not very sure of the storyline itself. Honestly, I had to refer to online reviews to understand it other than the fact that it revolves around lost, broken black men and religion. In fact, the storyline is so poorly drawn compounded with the way the camera often pans in and out, one initially believes there may be sexual abuse of Jeremiah by his father given the heavy use of alcohol in some of the scenes. Thankfully I guess that's not the case. The cinematography really threw me because some of the scenes are so dark that I literally cannot make out what's happening. At other times, the outdoor scenes are really beautiful and well done. The characters are quite one-dimensional which is also unfortunate. Jeremiah is something of a prop because we really don't know anything about him. The father is also largely just a shadowy drunk. Toward the end, we get rushed information about him through a single narrative/conversation but it would have been nice to have found out more about his life progressively throughout the film. We don't really understand how he came to be a drunk. Obviously, he wasn't born a drunk. Did he ever work? Did he ever leave this area and come back? Was he ever NOT depressed? He nearly becomes a ghost before we know anything about how he actually lived. Same with the stereotypical Pastor. By now, I think we've seen enough films from scarred black people who have been to churches with fallen pastors. Not every Pastor in the black church is shady though. Just want to put that out there. Anyway, the film could have been clearer but for a 19 year old, I'm going to give him some leeway.