GET ON THE BUS
A film review by Zak Forsman
Copyright 1997 Zak Forsman
A Million in One
Directed by SPIKE LEE Written by REGGIE ROCK BYTHEWOOD
CHARLES S. DUTTON as George OSSIE DAVIS as Jeremiah THOMAS JEFFERSON BYRD as Evan Thomas Sr. DE'AUNDRE BONDS as Evan Thomas Jr. ANDRE BRAUGHER as Flip GABRIEL CASSEUS as Jamal HILL HARPER as Xavier ISAIAH WASHINGTON as Kyle ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH as Gary
First, I'd like to say it's nice to have Spike Lee vindicate himself after doing something like GIRL 6. GET ON THE BUS is easily the best film he has made since DO THE RIGHT THING with the exception of maybe MALCOLM X. Spike does in this film what he does best--he presents issues that face society in an unbiased manner and lets the audience sort their feelings on their own. I love a film that engages my mind.
The story is about a busload of black men that board in South Central Los Angeles and drive across the country to The Million Man March in Washington D.C. The film was funded by fifteen African-American men and shot in just 18 days. This is another example of expert filmmaking (writing, directing, acting) that I hope the Oscars do not overlook. The screenwriter, Reggie Rock Bythewood is very talented. However, I would say that the screenplay is a little weak in a few spots. This may be due to the film's hurried production. But I tell you that nothing in the script is so bad as to detract from the better scenes. The greatest aspect of the screenplay is that the ideas behind The Million Man March and the reasons for going are expressed without directly involving the march itself. This makes those ideas much more powerful because it eliminates the inclusion of Minister Farrakhan, to which many would disregard the march's message in favor of claiming it racist and sexist. This idea is also expressed in another way. There is a member of The Nation of Islam on the bus who never says a word and never gets involved in any of the scenes. His presence is a symbol of the march, in that, even though The Nation of Islam was there and organized the march, the march was not about The Nation of Islam.
Spike Lee is one of the best filmmakers working today. In GET ON THE BUS, he's trying something different--the sure sign of a filmmaker that understands that the learning process never stops. Here, he meshes his ever-evolving style with that of a documentarian's eye. The bus ride feels "captured" by the filmmaker. Although there is plenty of hand-held camerawork, it is as though Spike Lee was able to film a documentary and still maintain effective use of dollies, cranes and tripods. It is an astonishing feat from a filmmaker's perspective and an effective technique for anyone watching.
As I watched the film, I noticed two things about the audience. The first was that anytime a character made a slant toward one of the homosexual characters, the audience laughed hysterically. The scenes were obviously written to be funny, but I think that the predictability of our own stereotypes was what the screenwriter was knowingly commenting on. I back this up with another scene where the bus stops at a roadside diner in Tennessee. The instant we see all the white faces inside, the audience expects a confrontation. In fact, everyone gets along pretty well. Even when Ossie Davis explains that steer wrestling was invented by a black cowboy, his listener responds with, "How about that." It's fairly obvious that these two scenes say more about the audience than the characters. But then, that's what I expect from a Spike Lee joint.
It's great to have you back, Spike!
Writing *** Directing **** Acting ****
Ratings are based on the four-star system.
Zak Forsman, filmmaker
Swan Pictures Independent http://www.epix.net/~swan/ swan@epix.net
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