Jamaica Best Films

Right Near the Beach – Pan African Film Festival 2020

In Right Near the Beach, Jeffrey Jacobs, Jamaica’s world record breaking sprinter is beaten to death near his home. His murder sparks a frenzy of media coverage that digs into his friendship with a gay man. Jeffrey’s single father becomes a social pariah because of the reaction to his son’s death, living alone in the hills. It’s only when his youngest son returns that he is given a chance to transcend his isolation and grief.

Right Near the Beach tells its story effectively through the images and sounds it presents. Firstly, the film develops Terrence Malick’s visual style to create a more visceral feeling. Right Near the Beach still has the trademark wandering camera and meditative shots familiar to Malick’s films, but adds a varying shot length to better convey the varying emotions Jeffrey’s dad feels.

For most of the film, the average spot length feels longer than your typical Hollywood film. This gives the audience more time to watch the characters as they wander in rural Jamaica alone, allowing us to feel their search for inner peace. However, for a few key scenes, the emotional toll of the media and neighborhood gossip is too much for them and they release their frustration in sin scenes with frantically fast cutting. The quick shots that rapidly cut around Jeffrey’s dad when he starts axing a tree root creates an urgent feeling of blind rage that contrasts with the otherwise relaxed feelings generated by the longer shots. It’s one example of how the filmmakers brilliantly use shot lengths to change the feelings of each scene.

Secondly, the sound of Right Near the Beach provides the foundation for the visual experimentation. In the first half of the film, the soundtrack is dominated by a constant stream of radio show interviews with people discussing Jeffrey Jacobs’ homosexuality. The real homophobia you hear on air (these interviews were conducted with real Jamaicans) penetrates the silence of the rural area Jeffrey’s father lives. What he hears forces him deeper into isolation just to try and silence the country’s prejudice. This changes in the second half of the film, when the prejudiced voices that plague him start to ease after his youngest son’s arrival. They’re replaced by more natural sounds from the rural environment they live in, marking his successful coming to terms with his eldest son’s death. It’s as if he’s managed to meditate away the hateful media and replace it with a calm peace of mind. Just as the visceral visual style builds emotions, the sounds we hear guide us through Jeffrey’s dad’s grief.

To take the film full circle, the filmmakers end the film with the reunion of the dad and his youngest son. It’s a touching end to an emotional film that shows they have both transcended the deaths of their brother/son and mother/wife.

Right Near the Beach manages to accomplish a lot. Firstly, the editing and cinematography work incredibly well with the soundscape to depict the character’s raw emotion and path to overcoming their grief. Secondly, the full circle script gives the film a spiritual completeness that many films fail to achieve. But, that’s not all. Right Near the Beach also touches on the prejudice in Jamaica and how the country is largely overlooked internationally except for beaches and running (hence the ironic title). I’m excited to see more from these filmmakers.

Head to our Pan African Film Festival Hub for more reviews from PAFF 2020.

Outdeh – The Youth of Jamaica (SBIFF)

A lot of places in the world you can’t just do what you want to do. In Jamaica it’s a lot like that. And I use that as a positive motivation to get me to pursue it and achieve it.
Shama

Outdeh follows three young men (Shama, Bakersteez, and Romar) in their quest to try and make something of their lives. They all want to do something new to build a platform for the next generation. Shama is the first professional surfer from the island, Bakersteez is trying to forge a career as a rapper from a country dominated by dancehall stars such as Popcaan, whilst Romar is trying to make it out of one of the islands most notorious ghettoes by playing football. They’re all going for their dreams because no other path has been cleared for them. And they all want to prove that their dreams are achievable.

The first thing that draws you into Outdeh is the idyllic slow motion shots of the island backed by the Jamaican soundtrack. It captures a musical-esque utopia that we are happy to be immersed in. There’s the ocean waves which Shama effortlessly glides through in front of empty Sandy beaches. There’s also shots of Shama carelessly skateboarding through city streets, dancing in front of cars as if he’s invincible. Then there’s shots of Romar playing football with a large group of guys from the neighbourhood. It doesn’t look like he has any worries even though we hear that he has to beg for money to eat from the neighbourhood boss. The evidence of an unhappy life is only spoken about, leaving the slow motion shots to show the utopian side of the idyllic island they live on. It’s a sign of a hopeful, positive future.

You’ll also be drawn in by the laid back characters of Bakersteez and Shama which hide a restless energy. Despite saying he gets nervous before his gigs, Bakersteez always appears completely confident and in control of his life’s direction. Shama is no different. Even though he’s the first professional surfer from Jamaica, he doesn’t even act like it’s a big thing, it’s just something he’s picked up for followed what he loves to do. Like Bakersteez, even though they’re forging new paths for a new generation, he never appears flustered or out of place.

The future looks bright for these three in Outdeh and the youth of Jamaica.

Head to our Santa Barbara International Film Festival Hub for more reviews from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

The Harder They Come (Jamaica) – Tune in For Reggae and Guns

The Harder They Come Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you like reggae you need to watch The Harder They Come. The reggae soundtrack is the star of this film which brought reggae to the world. You’ll also meet Ivan (played by Jimmy Cliff) a poor man from rural Jamaica trying to make it in the city.

Why Watch The Harder They Come?

The soundtrack – it brought reggae to the world
It’s the first film made in Jamaica by Jamaicans speaking Jamaican Patois
If you like shoot-outs and general chaos (just like the good old Westerns)
Experience a bit of Jamaica by watching it here on YouTube

The Breakdown

Ivan is traveling from rural Jamaica to the city in search of work after his grandmother dies. On the way to his mother’s house in Kingston, his bus almost crashes as it tears round downhill bends and a porter almost runs away with all his belongings after he arrives. This opening is all set to a energetic reggae soundtrack, giving you a chaotic introduction to the life and sound of Jamaica.

Ivan comes to the city in search of work, however work is scarce. Everywhere he goes he meets unskilled people like him also looking for work. He eventually manages to get a job after he fixes a broken bicycle, but gets thrown into prison after he slashes the bikes original owner when he tries to take it back. It’s at this stage of the film that Ivan’s hate for authority starts building.

So, why does Ivan grow to hate authority?

He’s whipped by the police for slashing the man who tries to take his old bike back
A rich record producer forces Ivan to sell his hit song for a pitiful $20
The preacher he works for at the church bullies him

You’re led to believe that it’s a combination of these reasons that makes Ivan kill a cop. However, it’s the film he watches (Django) which causes him to continue killing cops. The film romanticizes the outsider fighting against authority. In the clip we see, Django takes on a whole regiment of KKK members by himself while the whole crowd cheers on.

And it’s these shots of the crowd cheering on Django that director Perry Henzell chooses to show us interrupting Ivan’s cop-killing spree. Ivan’s popularity and fame grows rapidly when he’s on the run, much quicker than after he sold his hit song to that rich record producer. Like Django, he becomes an anti-hero in Jamaica because he’s a poor, downtrodden man who stands up to authority. Even though cop-killing isn’t really justified, the public cheer him on.

Image result for the harder they come

Conclusion

Whilst Henzell gives Ivan enough reason to hate authority, he doesn’t really justify Ivan’s complete u-turn mid-film from a guy trying to find work into a full on criminal. As a result, a lot of the sympathy you feel for Ivan which is built up in the first half of the movie is forgotten.

Therefore, my advice is not to watch this film for it’s plot. For example, you wouldn’t watch Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Predator for it’s great storyline. Instead, watch this film because it’s entertaining, it has a great soundtrack, and it finally brought Jamaica to the big screen.

Short Films from the PAFF 2020 – Part 2

Here’s another round of quick fire reviews from the short films featured in the Films in Paradise segment of PAFF 2020. Unfortunately one of the films in the segment, After Mas, had an issue with the audio so it won’t be reviewed here.

The deliverer (Trinidad & Tobago)

Joseph is a fisherman on a hunger strike. He’s leading a protest against the construction of an oil refinery which threatens to displace his community and livelihood. However, things change when Joseph rescues a wounded drug runner that offers him an opportunity to make enough money to save his home and town. All he has to do is traffic some drugs across from Venezuela.

The Deliverer feels more like a long trailer than a short film. Everything in it sets the film up for the dangerous journey trafficking drugs to and from Venezuela. However, as soon as the set up finishes with Joseph getting on his boat, the film ends. It’s simply a proof of concept short film that the filmmakers have made to try and raise enough funds for a feature film. I guess filmmakers have to do what they got to do to make a feature. Fortunately, this approach is working as The Deliverer is currently being developed into a feature length film. I hope I get a chance to see it.

She Paradise (Trinidad & Tobago)

A teenage girl struggles to fit into a crew of Soca backup dancers in She Paradise. Her shy, quiet personality doesn’t seem to fit the confident aura of the dance team, but, despite this, she keeps trying to break free of her insecurities. With the help of one of the older members of the dance team that she warms to, she ends up with her first chance on stage. Can she make the most of the limelight?

She Paradise was a refreshing change from the mostly male fronted short films I saw in the two short film segments I saw at PAFF. At its center is a heartwarming coming-of-age relationship between a young shy teenage girl and a confident and charismatic dancer that takes her under her wing. The older dancer becomes like a sister to the younger girl, showing her how to embrace her sexuality and act confidentially. These are two characteristics she needs to be a successful soca dancer, but their relationship feels deeper than that. It feels like the older dancer is helping guide the younger girl into adulthood, becoming the role model that the young girl doesn’t appear to have. Helping her to add color to her life (lipstick and make up), feel the music and express herself through dance gives her a foundation to be happy now and in the future. It’s a beautiful win for positivity.

Currently streaming on Vimeo

Flight (Jamaica)

Kemar dreams of flying to the moon. He sneaks up onto the roof at night to look at the starry night sky and builds a rocket ship with his best friend. However, when his best friend ‘grows up’ to work for a local gang, Kemar loses the only person that believed with him.

Flight is one of those films that is impossible to hate. The enthusiasm of the young kid and his dreams of becoming an astronaut are contagious. We can see what he imagines with the help of his friend and a few props. However, Flight melts your heart when you find out the reason why he wants to go to the moon; to get closer to his mother. It’s enough to get his dad to join him in building a spaceship to help his imagination get there. A beautifully heartwarming story about a father and son finally connecting and transcending their loneliness through their mutual love for their lost wife/mother.

The blue cape (Puerto Rico)

Two months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the power remains out and buildings continue to collapse. Junior, a ten year old boy, is summoned by his mother to search for medicine for his dying grandfather. He puts on a blue cape and sets off on his quest to save his grandfather.

The Blue Cape is just 6 minutes long but it packs a punch. Every shot is immaculate, and the acting is all on point. My personal highlights were the shots of Junior roaming down to the local town. He hops around loose bricks and walks along planks of wood strewn across the road. From his point of view, it looks like a normal run down town, but then the camera zooms out to reveal the bricks and planks are from half collapsed buildings that are teetering over deep valleys. It’s function is to uncover the colossal damage from the Hurricane that the U.S. media has overlooked. There’s an obvious lack of U.S. support months after the disaster (there’s no sign of repair and still damage everywhere). It directly implicates the U.S. as the ultimate decider of Junior’s grandad’s fate. Powerful and beautiful. Hope to see more from this director.

Head to our Pan African Film Festival Hub for more reviews and short films from the Pan African Film Festival 2020.