Daughters of the Dust

Rating:
Summary: Simply beautiful story-telling.
Review: It is indeed a shame that films like this are not more appreciated in our society, and that films like Independence Day and Lethal Weapon II are so "popular". This film tells the story of four generations of slave descendants living off the coast of South Carolina. The characters in this film are some of the most richly-developed and beautiful people you'll ever see on the screen. I feel that the director's real talent lies, not so much in the script-writing, but in the more artistic aspects of film-making. From the costumes, to the sound to the cinematography... etc., it is positively exquisite to see and listen to!

Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous epic of a little known American culture.
Review: Julie Dash is a more talented filmmaker than Spike Lee could ever hope to be. This gorgeuos epic of a rural Black family's migration to the cities of the Norht after the Civil War is told from the point of view of an unborn child and showcases a unique and little known American culture; The Gullah people of the Carolina's Sea Islands. Mystical, magical, informed by African and Southern American Traditions, this drop dead beautiful film is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A visual miracle
Review: Julie Dash's film "Daughters of the Dust" is a movie of such enchanting beauty as to leave you spellbound. It's the story of a Gullah family in the Sea Islands of Georgia, preparing to relocate to the mainland in 1902. The Sea Islands, as Julie Dash tells us in the companion volume written for the film, were the Ellis Islands of the transatlantic slave trade, the dropping off point and processing center for the forced immigration of untold millions of Africans. Because of this, African cultural influences are more strongly rooted here than anywhere else in the United States. At the head of the family is Nana Peazant, a matriarch whose quiet strength has seen her through slavery to the hard days of Reconstruction and beyond. Her children and their husbands and wives have decided to seek a future in the more modern environment of the mainland. They've grown tired of the backwardness of the island and want to spread their wings. But as Nana, who resolutely determines to stay put, has foreseen, they can remove themselves from the island, but they can't remove the island from within themselves, any more than they can remove the indigo dye of the island from their hands; they are marked forever by a part of their culture that will never go away. Along with Nana, we meet Yellow Mary, a cousin who has returned from Cuba as a fallen woman, unconsciously clinging to her roots as hard as she tries to pull away from them; Haggar, a bitter, possessive woman who attempts to hold onto her two young daughters, MyOwn and Iona ("I Own Her"), even as they attempt to break away and make their own destiny; Viola, using her hidebound Christianity as a shield to hide from her African heritage, and Eula and Eli, coping with the devastation of Eula's rape and impregnation by a white man, whose Unborn Child is the narrator of this film. There is heartbreak for Nana, watching her family depart from the home that has been theirs for generations, and for Haggar, whose daughter Iona decided to make her own destiny by eloping with her Native American lover. Julie Dash has managed to create film so real and so evocative that it transports us right into the action; we are there on the beach, feeling the heat, smelling the gumbo cooking, and listening to the exquisite tonalities of the Gullah dialect. The acting by all the characters is excellent throughout, with special mention for standout performances by Cora Lee Day as Nana Peazant, Alva Rogers as Eula Peazant, and Barbara O. Jones as Yellow Mary; but the real star in this film is the exquisite cinematography which is unlike anything I have ever seen in any film. The movie is so visually gorgeous that one just sits and watches awestruck. An equally strong script, well acted by the cast, gives the movie a depth and meaning that makes the film worth watching over and over. "Daughters of the Dust" is much more than a movie; it's an emotionally charged history lesson of a little known place and a little known culture. It remains inside you, a part of you, long after the final credits have ended.

Rating:
Summary: A visual miracle
Review: Julie Dash's film "Daughters of the Dust" is a movie of such enchanting beauty as to leave you spellbound. It's the story of a Gullah family in the Sea Islands of Georgia, preparing to relocate to the mainland in 1902. The Sea Islands, as Julie Dash tells us in the companion volume written for the film, were the Ellis Islands of the transatlantic slave trade, the dropping off point and processing center for the forced immigration of untold millions of Africans. Because of this, African cultural influences are more strongly rooted here than anywhere else in the United States. At the head of the family is Nana Peazant, a matriarch whose quiet strength has seen her through slavery to the hard days of Reconstruction and beyond. Her children and their husbands and wives have decided to seek a future in the more modern environment of the mainland. They've grown tired of the backwardness of the island and want to spread their wings. But as Nana, who resolutely determines to stay put, has foreseen, they can remove themselves from the island, but they can't remove the island from within themselves, any more than they can remove the indigo dye of the island from their hands; they are marked forever by a part of their culture that will never go away. Along with Nana, we meet Yellow Mary, a cousin who has returned from Cuba as a fallen woman, unconsciously clinging to her roots as hard as she tries to pull away from them; Haggar, a bitter, possessive woman who attempts to hold onto her two young daughters, MyOwn and Iona ("I Own Her"), even as they attempt to break away and make their own destiny; Viola, using her hidebound Christianity as a shield to hide from her African heritage, and Eula and Eli, coping with the devastation of Eula's rape and impregnation by a white man, whose Unborn Child is the narrator of this film. There is heartbreak for Nana, watching her family depart from the home that has been theirs for generations, and for Haggar, whose daughter Iona decided to make her own destiny by eloping with her Native American lover. Julie Dash has managed to create film so real and so evocative that it transports us right into the action; we are there on the beach, feeling the heat, smelling the gumbo cooking, and listening to the exquisite tonalities of the Gullah dialect. The acting by all the characters is excellent throughout, with special mention for standout performances by Cora Lee Day as Nana Peazant, Alva Rogers as Eula Peazant, and Barbara O. Jones as Yellow Mary; but the real star in this film is the exquisite cinematography which is unlike anything I have ever seen in any film. The movie is so visually gorgeous that one just sits and watches awestruck. An equally strong script, well acted by the cast, gives the movie a depth and meaning that makes the film worth watching over and over. "Daughters of the Dust" is much more than a movie; it's an emotionally charged history lesson of a little known place and a little known culture. It remains inside you, a part of you, long after the final credits have ended.

Rating:
Summary: A visual miracle
Review: Julie Dash's film "Daughters of the Dust" is a movie of such enchanting beauty as to leave you spellbound. It's the story of a Gullah family in the Sea Islands of Georgia, preparing to relocate to the mainland in 1902. The Sea Islands, as Julie Dash tells us in the companion volume written for the film, were the Ellis Islands of the transatlantic slave trade, the dropping off point and processing center for the forced immigration of untold millions of Africans. Because of this, African cultural influences are more strongly rooted here than anywhere else in the United States. At the head of the family is Nana Peazant, a matriarch whose quiet strength has seen her through slavery to the hard days of Reconstruction and beyond. Her children and their husbands and wives have decided to seek a future in the more modern environment of the mainland. They've grown tired of the backwardness of the island and want to spread their wings. But as Nana, who resolutely determines to stay put, has foreseen, they can remove themselves from the island, but they can't remove the island from within themselves, any more than they can remove the indigo dye of the island from their hands; they are marked forever by a part of their culture that will never go away. Along with Nana, we meet Yellow Mary, a cousin who has returned from Cuba as a fallen woman, unconsciously clinging to her roots as hard as she tries to pull away from them; Haggar, a bitter, possessive woman who attempts to hold onto her two young daughters, MyOwn and Iona ("I Own Her"), even as they attempt to break away and make their own destiny; Viola, using her hidebound Christianity as a shield to hide from her African heritage, and Eula and Eli, coping with the devastation of Eula's rape and impregnation by a white man, whose Unborn Child is the narrator of this film. There is heartbreak for Nana, watching her family depart from the home that has been theirs for generations, and for Haggar, whose daughter Iona decided to make her own destiny by eloping with her Native American lover. Julie Dash has managed to create film so real and so evocative that it transports us right into the action; we are there on the beach, feeling the heat, smelling the gumbo cooking, and listening to the exquisite tonalities of the Gullah dialect. The acting by all the characters is excellent throughout, with special mention for standout performances by Cora Lee Day as Nana Peazant, Alva Rogers as Eula Peazant, and Barbara O. Jones as Yellow Mary; but the real star in this film is the exquisite cinematography which is unlike anything I have ever seen in any film. The movie is so visually gorgeous that one just sits and watches awestruck. An equally strong script, well acted by the cast, gives the movie a depth and meaning that makes the film worth watching over and over. "Daughters of the Dust" is much more than a movie; it's an emotionally charged history lesson of a little known place and a little known culture. It remains inside you, a part of you, long after the final credits have ended.

Rating:
Summary: Magical Realism in Black CInema
Review: The story takes place around the turn of the century, and is about a gathering of the black Pesant family of the Sea Islands off the Carolinas as they prepare to migrate north, out of the world of former slaves in a rural society and into the modern era in the city. I found this film to be visually beautiful and deeply human. The Sea Island English dialect of the characters took a little getting used to, but was well worth the effort of understanding. The clan is large and multi generational, and they take time to honor their oldest member, great grandmother Nana Pesant. Her statement, "The ancestor and the womb is one and the same. Respect your ancestors, call on them for strength." is the underling theme of the film. All of this action is clothed in profound visual beauty, and magical events and memory weave through the fabric of the film. Believe me, you don't have to be black to enjoy this film. I loved it, and feel that it is on a par with the best of Fellini.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This is a must see. As an African American women who loves the stories of my people I find this film to be one that must be viewed. One must know from where they came to know where they are going, because a people that forget their past are doomed to repeat it in the future.
I implore all that read this review to heed my words and add this wonderful work to their collection of movies to be viewed again and again.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Film
Review: This is a wonderful film. The photography is just breath taking, and it is a good story. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellently told. Rich, historical and full of culture.....
Review: This is one movie that should be on every black family's video shelf. A tale of an Afro-American family with ties to the homeland and the new world. Acceptance of modern times and the remembrance of the old ways have an effect on the generations of a gullah family. You would have to see this film to really understand it and get the reality grasp of Black America. The trials, tribulations, acceptance, the plight as a whole. A must see. Julie Dash does an excellent job putting this film together. It shows the talent in black artistry. In this case; the writing, directing, acting, all of it, just pure talent!!!*****

Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL - MUST SEE DVD
Review: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. I loved it so much that I had to share it with a couple of my best girlfriends. I gave away my VHS copy and am now replacing it with the DVD version. A MUST HAVE for your collection.