Un homme comme tant d'autres

I've seen this movie twice and it touches me in a way that compels me to see it again and again. This film touches so many elements of poor southern existence that it feels more current than films made today. Though forty-one years later, with elements of the situational context dated, the film is eerily current. For example, with cotton-picking, day-working and railways section gangs replaced by newer working-class occupations, there remains a race-based hierarchy to life. NBAM brings to mind scenes from Crash minus the shock required for contemporary senses. I can only imagine what it was like to see this film when it was in the theater. As with so many genre-shifting and defing movies, watch it and the DVD extras section.

This is an excellent film, and I'm surprised it's not received more plaudits here. An exceptional movie, especially given the period in which it was made, about a young black man trying to "do the right thing" and make a life for himself in the South. Beautifully acted by everyone involved, Nothing But a Man lets you live the struggles that black men live(d) every day. The struggle to find a job, keep a job, be a man, raise a family, all while under the white shadow of racial bigotry. This is not a particularly uplifting film...you never get sense that everything will work out in the end, but because of this, the movie is all the more realistic. This is a CLASSIC, a true sleeper, that should be seen by everyone. The DVD version includes interviews with the cast and film makers 40 years later. In her interview, Abbey Lincoln seems to come undone while reflecting on the movie, the Struggle, and how little real progress has been made.

This movie was no doubt completed with at most a very modest budget, but the finished product is so strong and moving--thanks to a very intelligent script and great acting. Although the film stars no "big names", it is chock full of some of the better Black character actors of the 1960s. The leading man, Ivan Dixon, proved he was a fine and competent actor--far better than the role he played on HOGAN'S HEROES. It's a shame that he didn't get more starring roles during his career.

The plot involves people living in a small Southern town in the mid-1960s--after segregation was no longer legal but was still very rampant. Dixon just wants to be treated like a man--no more, no less. He is not asking for handouts but respect. Unfortunately, the people living in this town are so used to the status quo that they just feel it is futile to buck the system. As a result, Dixon faces major uphill battles--mostly on his own except for his lovely young wife. In addition, there are subplots concerning fatherhood and responsibility that greatly enhance the movie's message.

This film would be wonderful for anyone--in particular kids, as they will realize in watching this just how far we have come. Most young kids today just don't realize how tough things were for Black Americans in this country and how acceptable this maltreatment was. It deals effectively with these issues without being preachy or heavy- handed. A great film.

Memorable and poignant, Nothing But a Man is one of the glories of independent film; groundbreaking rather than earth shattering, its refusal to sentimentalize or overstate demonstrates true integrity. The film apprehends the simple existence of an ordinary couple in difficult circumstance, and the performances of Ivan Dixon and lovely jazz singer Abbey Lincoln are superbly naturalistic, and a well chosen and evocative supporting cast lends absolute credibility. The direction, editing, and cinematography are all fine, and the dialog is simply and beautifully convincing. Don't miss this rarely shown and extraordinarily rewarding film that, along with Point Blank, Pretty Poison, Rachel,Rachel, The Naked Kiss, Night of the Living Dead, Lolita,Rosemary's Baby,and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, remains one of the absolutes of 60's American cinema. The multi-talented Ivan Dixon directed The Spook Who Sat By the Door(73) and was on the 60's TV series Hogan"s Heroes.

Unlike other well-intentioned films of the period, NOTHING BUT A MAN presents the main character as neither saint nor scoundrel, but as a complex man with human contradictions. Ivan Dixon gives one of the best performances of his career as the lead character of Duff. A film of rare quality and subtlety.