Cane River

Hate to write a less than fulsome review of a serious indie film whose first time director died right after completing it, but one cannot deny that "Cane River" is a potentially interesting examination of class differences within black American culture that is lost amid a plethora of Louisiana travelogues and extended love scenes set to cloying late 70s/early 80s Barry White type soul ballads rather than, as an earlier reviewer noted, Creole or Cajun tunes that would mirror its setting. Also not helping things are rather stilted performances from the two leads. Give it a generous C plus

A lost film finally receiving release almost four decades after completion, "Cane River" offers a dfferent story of Afro-American romance, dealing with an unusual clash of cultures.

Instead of miscegenation, this is a story of a romance between a Black girl and a Creole hero, latter a football star who gives up the prospect of a pro ball career to instead focus on his plan to become a writer and poet.

Rural setting, plus a colorful trip to New Orleans where the heroine is matriculating to college, is enhanced by lovely photography in a bucolic mode, also useful to setting up the historical background to the story. Acting by a cast of unknowns is strident at times, but manages to conjure up interesting characters, though the plot and action is way too laidback to hold the interest of most 21st century audiences.

Earnest is the best adjective to describe this picture, representative of the early years of the now-familiar modern Independent Film movement, and while hardly compelling it is of historical note.

Tuned in for scenery and music-but in spite of not hearing creole musics and tunes, thoroughly enjoyed the movie. btw, I think it's pronounced "Nack a tecsh"..might be natch a dough chess in Texas, but not in Louisiane. good job.

Richard Roman comes down to Louisiana to do some sightseeing. He and Tommye Myrick fall in love. Yet while he is certain about their future together, her mother, brother, and she have issues.

It is the revelation of those issues that forms the story of this movie, and the beauty of New Orleans and its environs makes a lovely backdrop. The conflict -- and you can't have a compelling story without a conflict -- is their class differences. If this movie has a point, it's that Black culture is not monolithic. In fact, Roman's character is what is slighted these days as an 'Oreo' -- Black on the outside, white inside. His is a world of possibilities, while Miss Myrick's is a broken world of circumscription that makes her distrustful.

If this movie has its weaknesses, it is the too-pretty world of gardens that their romance takes place against, and the manner in which the back stories are revealed when they become necessary for the plot. It's too neat to have much verisimilitude. Still, it satisfies all of the requirements of a romance, and the players are all more than competent. and the need for self-respect, for being able to take care of oneself is a key point of the subtext.

I was actually quite tickled by this film. I thought it was romantic, and sweet. I am familiar with the creole culture of Cane River so I was automatically interested. The acting was ok but the message and the consciousness of the film outweighed everything. I was happily surprised by how engaged I stayed. I am shocked and quite astounded to hear the film was only released in 2020! What a gem to discover. This is what I miss about films today that display black romance. Hopefully more people discover this film as I was just on youtube looking at black movie classics and came across this film!!