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?
  1. He’s whipped by the police for slashing the man who tries to take his old bike back
  2. A rich record producer forces Ivan to sell his hit song for a pitiful $20
  3. 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.

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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.

 

La Yuma

La Yuma Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

You’ve probably seen Boyz in the Hood and 8 Mile, and you might have seen Kidulthood and Menace II Society. They’re all ‘hood’ films. Each of them features young men growing up in ‘the hood’, trying to make it despite all the bad influences around them. La Yuma is another ‘hood’ film, but what makes it different is that instead of starring a young man dealing with machismo, gangsters, and bad parents, it stars a young woman dealing with the same things. Introducing our star (and aspiring boxer): La Yuma.

From: Nicaragua, North America
Watch: Trailer, Kanopy, JustWatch
Next: Amor y Frijoles, A Fantastic Woman, Do the Right Thing
Continue reading “La Yuma – Just a Girl Trying to Make it Out the Hood”
Image result for cocote film

Cocote Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Are blood ties stronger than spirituality? Find out in Cocote as one man returns home to bury his father. Is it worth sacrificing a stable Christian life in the city for a family life he has tried to leave behind.

From: Dominican Republic, North America
Watch: Trailer, Buy Direct, Kanopy, Hoopla
Next: Batuque, White Sun, Blue Ruin
Continue reading “Cocote – Religion and Ritual in the Dominican Republic”
Edge of the Knife

Edge of the Knife Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you’re a horror fan or someone who loves languages, check out this film. Edge of the Knife offers horror fans something different and film fans an opportunity to see the first film shot with a Haida cast, speaking Haida, on Haida land.

From: Canada, North America
Watch: Trailer, Buy on Amazon
Next: Antichrist, The Revenant, Tanna
Continue reading “Edge of the Knife – A Living Haida Legend”
Amor y Frijoles Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you’re a fan of indie films or telenovelas, you’ll enjoy Amor y Frijoles. It’s got the feel of a heart-warming indie film, but the romantic drama of a Mexican telenovela.

Why Watch Amor y Frijoles?
  • Experience life in a typical town in Honduras
  • For telenovela level relationship drama
  • See typical Honduran food: Baleadas
  • Witness the effects of boredom on Ojojona’s inhabitants
The Breakdown

Amor y Frijoles starts with a load of establishing shots of the town of Ojojona as it wakes up in the morning. You’ll see shots of the churches, the streets, the butcher chopping meat, vendors preparing coffee, and the rural landscape which surrounds the town. It’s a typical Honduran town, and acts as a microcosm for the entire country.

This isn’t great news for Honduras. As whilst the town is portrayed well, the main characters are not. Firstly there’s Dionisio, Karen’s husband. He obviously doesn’t care for his wife as he comes home late every night and ignores her. Karen also suspects that he’s cheating, and he probably is, even if it’s never confirmed. Secondly there’s Ramiro, Karen’s best friends husband. At every opportunity he voyeuristically checks out Karen. There’s even one obvious shot of him gazing at her boobs.

Dionisio and Ramiro compose a pretty awful picture of Honduran men. But luckily(?) for them Karen stoops to their level and therefore half  vindicates their awful behavior by having a one-off affair with Ramiro, her best friend’s husband! The drama!

Why are their relationships so extra-marital?

There are so many extra-marital affairs because they are all bored. Karen cooks baleadas in the morning before she goes home and watches hours and hours of reality and religious TV. The directors show her following the same mundane routine everyday. It’s obvious she’s bored, but she’s too stuck by her routine to break from it. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when the TV breaks, she looks to other entertainment to fill the void.

This is also true for Ramiro, Karen’s best friends husband. He’s never shown doing anything other than driving around town aimlessly. It doesn’t look like he has a job or any hobbies to occupy his time. Therefore, without anything to do, he keeps trying to seduce Karen.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Amor y Frijoles is a well made, easy-to-watch Honduran film. It’s got the feel of a great indie film. However, the plot is anything but relaxing, it’s full of the relationship drama you expect to see in Latin American telenovelas.

For more controversial relationships in Central America, check out two films with Gabriel Garcia Bernal:

Or, if you’re after a more romantic love film, check out The Road Home by Zhang Yimou or Sepet, a teen love film set in Malaysia.