ONCE UPON A TIME ... WHEN WE WERE COLORED
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0 Alternative Scale: ***1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 1/12/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:55 MPAA Classification: PG (Violence, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Charles Earl Taylor Jr., Willis Norwood Jr., Damon Hines, Al Freeman Jr., Richard Roundtree, Phylicia Rashad, Paula Kelly, Leon, Isaac Hayes, Bernie Casey, Polly Bergen Director: Tim Reid Producers: Michael Bennett and Tim Reid Screenplay: Paul W. Cooper based on the novel by Clifton Taulbert Cinematography: John Simmons Music: Steve Tyrell U.S. Distributor: Republic Pictures
In a time when intelligent family pictures are at a premium, intelligent African American family pictures are virtually nonexistent. Into that void has come ONCE UPON A TIME... WHEN WE WERE COLORED, Tim Reid's feature adaptation of Clifton Taulbert's memoirs. Blending sepia-toned nostalgia with harder-hitting, passionate themes, Reid has crafted a portrait of growing up in the middle-of-the-century South the likes of which is rarely found in any medium.
In ONCE UPON A TIME, a sense of quiet dignity has replaced the rage that often typifies films targeted for black audiences. Yet this movie is no less emotive or potent because of it. Issues of equality, fairness, and self-respect form the cornerstones of the defining subtext for this coming-of-age story. Although ONCE UPON A TIME is rooted in a setting that will have greater resonance for black Americans, much of what this film says has universal scope and intent.
ONCE UPON A TIME... WHEN WE WERE COLORED opens in 1946 in Colored Town, the black companion community to Glen Allen, Mississippi -- the year and place of Clifton Taulbert's birth. The film traces his first sixteen years, ending in 1962 when Cliff decides to leave his home, family, and work in the cotton fields for the promise of the North. Although ONCE UPON A TIME is occasionally disjointed, and some of the transitions are abrupt, it nevertheless offers a compelling chronicle of one man's growth into adulthood during volatile times, when courageous men and women began challenging an unjust system.
As with most episodic movies, certain segments leave a more lasting impression than others. One of the most memorable occurs early in the film, when Cliff's great-grandfather (Al Freeman Jr.) gives the young boy a lesson about the differences between "White" and "Colored" facilities. This is immediately followed by a KKK march, one of the film's few grim, tense scenes. On another occasion, friends and family gather around Cliff's great-grandfather's radio, listening to the play- by-play of a Joe Lewis fight ("Colored folks had so few heroes..."). There's a wonderfully festive Sunday picnic characterized by food, games, and good times. Then, towards the end, we are privy to a church meeting where the men and women of Colored Town debate whether the community should send someone to an NAACP meeting up North.
The film is highlighted by a pair of strong performances. Al Freeman Jr. (as Poppa, Cliff's great-grandfather) and Richard Roundtree (as Cleve, a local ice salesman who becomes embroiled in an "ice war" with a white-owned company) take supporting roles and turn them into memorable portrayals. The three young actors who play Cliff -- Charles Earl Taylor Jr. (age 5), Willis Norwood Jr. (age 12), and Damon Hines (age 16) -- are solid, if not spectacular. The rest of the cast varies from effective (Polly Bergen, Paula Kelly) to adequate (Leon, Phylicia Rashad). Technically, ONCE UPON A TIME rarely shows its monetary constraints, although, considering Tim Reid's struggle to put together the film's budget, it's amazing how good it looks.
ONCE UPON A TIME... WHEN WE WERE COLORED is about growing up and breaking free, both as an individual and as a community. It's about standing up for denied rights and not backing down in the face of pressure. Moreover, it's an intimate odyssey through the kind of childhood that is forever lost in the not-so-distant-past, when, despite the plague of legal racism throughout the South, the closeness of a community still offered support, comfort, and love. In Cliff's words, "All that I am or ever will be comes from growing up with my extended family in...Colored Town." That simple statement embodies the core of the film's message to viewers of all races and generations.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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