Slam

Without Saul Williams this film could not have been made. Its as if it was tailor made for William's awesome rapping talents without which the film would be pointless.

This film is definitely a milestone in black cinema. Its fresh, breathtaking, original, powerful and 'takes no prisoners' (mind the pun).

And a couple of word about the soundtrack - the ever excellent DJ Spooky takes the credits combining the most powerful hip hop outfits around, to create an intensive soundtrack which completes this film and leaves you open jawed.

A movie that will move you in every possible way. A 'black gangsta' movie that doesn't rely on mindless violence to give you the 'message'.

The 'message' from this movie is beautiful and the poetry is mindblowing (especially the last poem). The acting is excellent throughout and the funny thing is that all the acting is natural and it seems like you are a watching a gritty documentary. (Look out for the jail riot and you will understand what I mean).

A highly recommended movie, do not miss it.

In the remarkable racial film Slam by Mark Levin shows firsthand how other forces define us. In the movie a young man named Ray Joshua gets caught up in this stereotypical generation, while gang violence and drug dealing causes Ray to become another statistic in his society. This inspirational tale lets the viewer see how people in different surroundings can be faulted so easily based on their race, neighborhood, and level of threat to society. Ray makes the best of it when he stumbles upon a passion for slam poetry which changes his whole perspective on life.

When Ray participates in a drug deal gone bad and is arrested for possession of a controlled substance and suspicion of homicide, he starts to realize the odds of him fighting this and winning his freedom back is slim to none. While in jail he is defined as a typical African American drug dealer but he begins to fight back when he finds a way to resolve a fight between to gangs by blessing them with his free written poetic rap which talks about the forces that try define him. Ray fights back and attempts to change the way he lives his life by trying to end the revenge between the people that shot his friend in a drug deal gone bad. Not even the violence can define Ray as he uses his imagination to express all his feelings through poetry. He begins to go down the right path when he gets out of jail and does everything in his power to live above society's definition of him and try to better his surroundings. He does this when he stands up to his enemies and explains that revenge is pointless and they should just squash their beef.

Extra Credit One theme I saw replay itself in the movie is how the public views people like Ray and how these people fall right into societies trap because it's the only way they know. Nobody expects for these Washington D.C. punks to ever grow out of the ghetto and make something better of themselves. Ray really proves his society wrong when he shows everyone that he can be a good person and he expresses this through his poetry which opens up a whole new group of people who teach him the typical or expected way isn't always the way to go. Society views Ray and his community as "public enemies number one" because everyone assumes they will all just become drug dealers or killers and end up in jail. This is a horrible stereotype that is seen everywhere in the world and can define the people in the ghetto. It takes a strong man to live above this definition and try to make something better of himself.

My favorite part in this movie is when Ray attempts to stop or delay a fight about to break out in the jail yard. I loved this part because anyone can write a poem and make it rhyme, but it takes a strong motivated individual to use his poetry as a way to make people think about the decisions they make and ultimately put a stop to a deadly situation. I can relate to when Ray was meeting with his public defender and he was given the ultimatum of either going to trial and fear losing or pleading guilty for less time even if he was guilty. When I was in eighth grade I worked at a concession stand at a football field where I was accused of stealing money. I denied stealing the money and I was told either I admit to stealing the money and giving it back or they were going to call the cops. I told them to call the cops because I knew I was innocent. About a week later I got a call from the woman who runs the concession stand and she explained that another worker and her own son had admitted to stealing the money. I felt helpless when I was given an ultimatum because I realized that when people don't believe you, you could be paying the consequences for another person's wrong doing. I could tell that Ray felt helpless and trapped in between two negative outcomes. This film sends the viewers a message that if you don't try to better yourself from the people around you, then you will fall into societies definition of a typical ghetto troublemaker. I would recommend this film because it urges the importance of living above what's expected of you and I think a lot of young kids these days don't realize that.

Really good and believable script, atmosphere and flow, very well acted. It doesn't even matter if the camera crew is totally visible in many pictures in one guys mirror-sun glasses. This is definitely one of the best "hood" movies of the nineties. It's also shows you a different kind of hood that you're used to: OK there's some drug selling and rapping, but that's the reality, and reality is what these movies are about. But that's only the beginning: This film grows to be really deep and interesting story about generations, art making (=self-expression), life goals, and the Tragedy of the contemporary world. In this film, for example the rapping thing is portrayed quite funnily; It's more real, in other words also more sad and also more serious, than in the other movies. This film shows what rap, and any kind of art and self-expression is: It's about salvation, it's about ideals, it's about dreaming, it's about rising above. It's about creating your OWN world inside or outside, or above, the world which you don't like and don't wanna support. It's about prisons of the mind that you or some other people have created in your mind which you gotta grow out of to be free. It's a story of courage. It's about miracle of life. This film really shows what it's all about, if someone already don't know. It's a PEOPLE's culture. The MTV and money sh** don't have and will never have anything to do with it. It's a people's way of expressing themselves in their communities. And this film shows it all real beautifully. One of the best movies about artist's life too. It also grows to be a beautiful love story. In all ways it's better than all it's parts combined and all hopes imagined.

It's not the best acted film in the world, like some reviewer said, but it might at the top level among the other best. The film is also very nicely shot. It doesn't actually feel like a documentary, but more like what it really is: Quite cheaply and simply (=that means freely) made self-expression. You can feel the joy of the making. I don't have to even mention that the soundtrack is great: One of the best. The world needs this kind of movies. (Or does it?...) At least somebody's world does. Somebody else's world might need movies that glorify violence. This is not that kind of movie. This is not 50 cent. This is not death. This is life.

Fantastic performances, a good story and interesting photography make Slam a very good movie; realism makes it a great one. I was in awe of the utter authenticity of the people, the situations, the energies in this film. I was suitably impressed by the emotions expressed and how effective it all was, for essentially a minimalist message (the odds are stacked against young black males in the inner cities) but even more impressed once I listened to the commentary on the DVD. I highly recommend you get your hands on the disc, and listen to the commentary after watching the film. Sure, it's a bit too self-congratulatory ("what a beautiful shot!" [it was only "nice"]) but the insight on the people involved--the writers, actors, poets... adds an incredible amount of depth to the experience.

To quickly generalize: if you appreciate Spike Lee's work, you'll probably like Slam. Although Spike might be a little upset that a white Jewish director brought this to film :-)