DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson
120 min., not rated, Drama/Documentary, 1992 Director: Julie Dash
The film is about a tribe of African people who used to be slaves and are now living on a series of islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. They have their own culture and speak a mixture of American and their native tongue. Their islands are now threatened. The basic plot behind the film covers one family leaving their island.
This is going to be a relatively short review because I only watched half an hour before I got completely bored with this film. Because of the number of people on the network who disliked this film compared with those who liked the film I didn't go to see it when it played at the art theater in my area. One week later it came on public television, and I figured I would try it for free. I found the film to be incredibly boring, and I am glad that I didn't pay any money to see the film. Someone who is really interested in these people might like this film; I don't know. On a scale of zero to five I give this film a zero. DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST is not rated and doesn't contain anything objectionable.
The cinematography was beautiful, and so were the islands. I think that this was the best part of the film, and why I lasted half an hour. The actors/actresses also did a great job. The fault lies in the writing. The dialogue was boring and the people spoke in a way that was hard to understand, so it took a lot of concentration to follow the dialog.
I don't recommend this film unless you are interested in a documentary type film on these people or if you will watch a film just for the photography. The photography probably looks better in a theater on a large screen than on a television screen, so if that is your reason for seeing the film I suggest that you see it in the theater. If you do decide to go see DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST, I suggest matinee prices if available.
Ken J. blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
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