Rating: 
Summary: beautiful movie
Review: i [tried] to read this book, but couldn't get past the first 250 pages or so. while it was fascinating to read and i found the characters intriguing, i didn't have the TIME to sit down and read it through: the pacing was entirely too slow. so, i put it down and promised myself to 'come back to it,' wishing SOMEONE would adapt it to film so that i could have time for the actual STORY.i was thrilled when i discovered this dvd at the local blockbuster. the film, which outlines the lives of one french-creole-haitian family in louisiana who--by a series of questionable and irreversible decisions made through generations--enjoyed the privilege of being part of the 18,000-strong community of those both black and free in early-1800's louisiana, is paced WONDERFULLY. i found that the film adaptation was true to what i'd read in the book and the characters, except for anna bella who i thought would look more african, were just as i had imagined them in my mind. this is def. the best book-to-film I'VE ever seen. the movie was beautiful to look at and of altogether intriguing subject matter. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. on the contrary, because it was a made-for-tv movie, i was expecting quality far LESS than that which i actually saw. the relationships between the characters were believable, as was the plot of the film. it's about 3 1/2 to 4 hours long, but it certainly didn't feel that way. in fact, i was disappointed when it ended. the acting was great (the accents, less so). and my goodness, the cast read like a who's who in black hollywood. forest whitaker, pam grier, jasmine guy, ruby dee, ozzie davis, james earl jones, eartha kitt, goodness...the list goes on. however, those that were newer to me, such as the films protagonist marcelle (robert richard) did as well--sometimes better--than the veterans. i love historical movies, especially those about wwii and america in the 1800s. this is the best movie of the latter category i've ever seen. it neither over-dramatizes or under-dramatizes the situation of the people it depicts (which is more than what u can say for classics such as 'gone with the wind'). i'd recommend this one to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Movie about America's Least Known Group of People
Review: in Antebellum Louisiana, Gens de Colour. As a woman of African, American Indian, and White ancestry, I've always been fascinated by those people in New Orleans who formed an aristocracy unto themselves and were free. They have their rituals, customs, and amusements such as the famous Quadroon Balls. They have rights and freedoms that most blacks and multiracials, slave and free, in antebellum America didn't have, yet they were not completely free because the power elite of that time didn't want to share power with the free people of color. They may conduct business with them, but refuse to invite them to their houses for dinner or social function.
Anne Rice has done an excellent job telling the story through the eyes of young Marcel, who came of age at 17, was promised by his absentee father an education abroad. However, because of the racism and jealousy of the Ferronaire family as well as the economic troubles at Bontemps, he was denied his lifelong dream of going there to pursue his prestigious education at the Sorbonne. He took matters in his own hands and went to the plantation where his father lives and was forbidden by his father to visit there. It was there where Marcel was brutally whipped and kicked by his own his father, in the presence of his estranged wife and children. What man would abuse his own flesh and blood? It has to be motivated by race and class: Marcel must learn his place in the white world of 19th-Century Louisiana. He learned it the hard way through the denial of privileges his absentee father enjoy as well as his humiliation and abuse by M. Ferronaire. He now learned that he must cast his allegience to people of color, whose lives have been shaped by society's limitations and its racist, classist behavior and ritual.
His mother's insane devotion to her absentee protector didn't help Marcel's recent problems, yet he must leave his family to live at his schoolteacher's house or else they lose monetary and material support from M. Ferronaire. Humiliated and hurt, Marcel offer himself to him, but Mercier refuses, citing his childish dependency upon others, especially by those whom didn't truly love him. His father was a prime example.
I couldn't forgive Cecile St. Marie for the neglect of her daughter, indifferent to the suffering her son had at the hands of his callous and insensitive father, the brutal rape of his sister and the suicide of their half-sister Lisette following the incident at the voodoo brothel. He finally found peace with his people at the end of the movie. He decides to become a photographer and to work with the people in his hometown instead of studying abroad. He also found renewed love from Anna Bella Monroe played by Bianca Lawson from "Save the Last Dance." Anna Bella emerge as the stronger character in all of this and much more, even with the placage with Aglae's brother and eventual abandonment by him. He didn't left her in poverty, for he left her the house along with all the possessions as well as lifelong monetary support which Philippe didn't do for the Ste. Marie family.
I wish Americans know more of this least-known group of people andstop the unnecessary divisions among the human race. America needs to acknowlege their ties to one another, that racial/ethnic category terms such as "blacks" and "whites" are just artificial social categories design to keep people apart and resentful of one another. We are one people regardless of our various racial and ethnic origins.
I recommend this movie to those who want to know the whole truth about American history instead of the doctored version parroted by the media and educational system.
Rating:
Summary: It was wonderful
Review: The movie is an awsome adaptation of the book. I saw the film first last year, and it convinced me to buy the book. The book is more intricate, and the only problem I had with it is that it was not long enough. By seeing the film first, I could see every character I read about in the book clearly. I was impressed with both the movie and the film, the only problem I had with the film was that it was not shown often enough so I have to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Twisted look at a lost history
Review: This movie is sooo great. Of course, the movie pales in comparison to Anne Rice's novel of the same name but it is still a great film. You've got many hollywood up and comers as well as veterans that make this film awesome. One may think that this is another Roots or Queen of the Alex Hailey genre but this movie is in a league of it's own. Showtime did an excellent job in making the story a movie! If you love period pieces or just thought provoking content put into a movie check this one out!
Rating:
Summary: feast of all saints
Review: this tale was very intrigueing and susspenseful and i absolutely loved it
Rating:
Summary: What a Beautiful Movie
Review: When I first saw this movie for the first time, I saw myself watching it over and over again. Being an African-American woman in America, I was tired of seeing the usual slavery movies such as Roots, Amistad, and Beloved.All movies that were difficult to watch. I'm pretty sure that both black and white america are tired of seeing the same thing over and over again! the plot is always the same white america opressing blacks! But this movie was different in every way. It actually taught me something about my history, that there were free people of color who were aristocrats, living on the thin line between priveledge and oppression.
The characters and actors put a lot of energy and feeling in this movie and I wish I could give it 10 stars! If your looking for something to watch besides Beloved, Roots, or Amistad, I highly recommend this film!!!
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