2024 Blind Spot Series: Daughters of the Dust

-


Official synopsis: A languid, impressionistic story of three generations of Gullah women living on the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1902.

I wanted to add more films directed by women to my Blind Spot list this year, and when doing so Daughters of the Dust was an easy inclusion. It's one I've thought about for a while, and thankfully Mubi is streaming it for all to see.

Daughters of the Dust is a gorgeous film. It's poetry in motion with its stunning cinematography and costumes. The film feels like an extended dream sequence. The style reminded me a bit of Picnic at Hanging Rock in that aspect. (I preferred this film far more) Gullah culture is something I'm well versed in, so I can't speak to any smaller intricacies involved, especially with the language used. 

Admittedly, there were times my attention wavered, but a lot of that had to do with the very annoying blizzard happening outside my windows, and my kid kicking a soccer ball around the house because of said blizzard. Had I been in a quieter environment, I doubt I would've had issues regaining focus. 

I have to wonder if this film had been released today if director Julie Dash would have a bigger career. Not that her career is *nothing* but would she be talked about in prestigious circles like Ava Duvernay or Dee Rees? This is a film that should've gotten more traction in the 90's, but we all know why it didn't.  

Should you have Mubi, this is well worth the watch. 

Grade: B+

Comments

  1. thevoid99February 28, 2024 at 4:48 PM

    This is a great film and a great reason to be subscribed to MUBI as I hope the film's of Justine Triet are still available in the coming months as I'd like to check out her work. Julie Dash should have a bigger career and be discussed more. I think it has to do with her not wanting to work with the system in Hollywood and honestly, who could blame her?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 29, 2024 at 7:52 AM

      I wouldn't blame her if it were her choice. I was just surprised I wasn't familiar with her after watching this. I jumped on that special Mubi was running last month where you get 4 months for $1. I'm glad I did.

      Delete
  2. joel65913February 29, 2024 at 6:01 PM

    It does have that dreamy quality to it that is somewhat akin to Picnic at Hanging Rock. I'm the reverse of you though, I'm more inclined towards Hanging Rock which I loved to this which I liked a good deal without loving. It did hold my interest especially since I knew little about the subject of the film. I was fortunate to see the film on TCM during a special series they ran on films made by women throughout the world, back when I still had access to that (my one big regret to going from cable to Roku only).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 4, 2024 at 7:55 AM

      We all have those one regrets when ditching cable. Mine is baseball lol.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more