Breana Janae Photography

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

In a city ever changing, 3^rd and 4^th generations families can start to feel displaced as the world around them begins to change to unfamiliar faces and overall construction—leaving only themselves or the homes they’ve lived in as remnants of the world before the gentrifiers.

Last Black Man in San Francisco tells the love story between a man and a house. Loosely following the real-life story of Jimmie Fails IV who admiringly loves a house that his grandfather has built, illustrating the relationship between him and San Francisco. Without giving away all the twists of the film, the film beautifully depicts the duality and complexities of black men that we do not normally see in films and media. We see this in Jimmie’s character, who is the sensitive and nurturing man who cares about skate boarding and his family’s estate. The way he meticulously restores the house’s original features although the other occupants did not appreciate that. In the film we see that Jimmie lives in between two worlds just as many Black authors like W.E.B Du Bois talks about as he puts on one image of himself with his father and another with his best friend, Monty.  To get a deeper understanding of this complexity shown in the film, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, of Between the World and Me, perfectly describes the complexity of how many young black men act “hard” as a defense mechanism and armor against the world. This is perfectly seen in the group who “talks shit” about Monty in the course of the film. All this to say that the acting in the film shows “we aren’t just one thing”—this is better understood when watching the film.

The film is not only a love story between a man and a house, in many ways it is a love story to San Francisco. The director of the film, Joe Talbot and real-life actor Jimmie Fails, who are native to San Francisco and longtime friends showcase the changing city through out Fillmore and Mission. This is shown through the slow motion but energetic shots of people in the city and the shots of the Muni and BART.

Last Black Man in San Francisco is so breathtakingly beautiful in its cinematography. The compositions that make these characters so large in an even larger city allows you to get into their minds. The use of the Bay Area iconic fog to create a dystopic world within a reality we may not want to see. The framing within frames through out the house provide us with an intimate view of the family estate. The warmth colors of red and browns in the film provide us with a comforting sense but played against the blues intensify some moment in the film.

In a time like 2020, where we are looking for the beauty of the ever changing world I highly suggest this film. I could honestly rave about this film so much but I will leave you with this, “You can’t hate something if you never loved it”.

Parasite (2019)

Bong Joon Ho, the director of Snowpiercer strikes audiences worldwide with this suspenseful mystery that take turns you that keeps you second guessing the motives of everyone, while dissecting classicism. Who’s to say parasite?

This dark and gritty film starts off looking at a struggling family of four in a semi basement trying to gain money to survive. Only to be given a seemingly harmless gift that changes their whole life. This starts with the son Ki-Woo (Kevin) who was given a gift from his friend, Min’s grandfather–a landscape structure. Second, Min hands over his tutoring position for this rich family in order for them to get more money, but also help Min ask the young girl of the household out once she had come of age (VERY QUESTIONABLE).

As the film goes on, the family devilishly manipulated the rich family into hiring all of them under different personas. From slandering the driver, to making a full-blown scheme where you poison a gentle housekeeper and get her fired–it was entire family operation. As this ambush is happening in the film a looming spirit is present in the film, what is it you may be asking… it’s the landscape sculpture that linking them with the rich and privileged world. From the final moments of the housekeeper’s employment, it seems as though the two families are happy with everything. That is until, an unexpected guest comes back. This guest throws the whole plan out the window, the film becomes survival of the fittest, or actually the neediest. Who is willing to push the boundaries and survive?

The film is not only stimulating in the story line and the progression of the characters schemes but in the visuals. The film doesn’t use any fancy techniques like in Waves where it was very experimental. Parasite’s composition allows us to view the space entirely. From the slow pans that reveal the characters outside our visual frame to the static spacial shots of the home as people walk upstairs or the son looking out the window as the maid is fired. Additionally, the scene where we use a Jib to pan down from the hazy wires of the semi basements to the chaos. Or the elaborate scene of making Ram-don, that led to the intense fast pace scene coming to the end with a jaw-dropping break (literally). Parasite does not disappoint in the films visuals that amplifies the dramatic script and acting.

Throughout the film, there were little breadcrumbs that gave you hints of what was to come, only if you paid close enough attention you would be able to see it. Parasite, takes the theme of classicism in whole new direction that American filmmakers have yet to do. This engaging story only give us a glimpse of the willingness people will go to be respected but also survive in a world of capitalism.

Waves (2019) 2/13/2020

Waves has been a film I have been looking forward to seeing since the trailers were release early last year. A24 is a production studio I admire and honestly this is something that lives up and more to my expectations. From the coloring, pacing of two characters emotional journeys, the ratio changes that increases and relieves our tension in the film, the parallels between the different scenes in each of the halves to even the use of sound and silence, move the film into a reflective and emotional journey of a family who is looking for love, comfort, and clarity in an unforeseen crisis.

Coloring- In the first half of the scenes within in the movie, Tyler’s theme is blues and reds. The red in the theme gives off the impression there’s aggressive energy going on in his world. The blue represents the calm but the sadness that he goes through on his journey. For Emily his sister, her colors are blue and yellow/ orange, which being in warmer tones to her characters energy vs how cold and closed off her brother was.

Pacing- In the first half of the film, the pacing begins with a 360 camera that moves fast around Tyler and his girlfriend, Alexis. Following this scene, the film moves into fast pace montages of the character working out or getting ready for competition. The pacing begins to ramp up even more during his tournament where we all know his arm is in pain. The only time this tension in somewhat broken in the first half of the film is when Tyler is comforted by Emily in the bathroom after a long night where he is left saying “I’m sorry…I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to wake you. As the pacing begins to intensify throughout this half the ratios in the film begin to get tighter up to 4:3 where you can barely breathe as the character is at his breaking point. From there the pacing begins to change to a slower rhythm as we switch our focus to Emily as she navigates through the aftermath her brother left behind him. The pacing helps to be slower as we become calmer as well as reflective of each character’s actions.

Parallels- The film opens with Emily riding on her bike this is important as we come to this at the end of the film which gives a free and almost reflective feeling to the journey they had. There are three parallels I would like to be up. One, the moments of Emily comforting Tyler as he says he is sorry for waking her, and Luke (Emily’s boyfriend) and his dying father console each other before he passes away. In this moment, we see people who have hurt them try to ask for forgiveness. Second, some of the framing both Tyler and Emily have within their own journeys, which include the transition between Tyler backseat of the police car and between Emily backseat in the car with their parents. In addition, two of the character with their partners in the car with the 360 cameras as they curse the open road, and the scenes as they embrace in the water. Finally, the way each cope with emotions in the tube which becomes a place of “drowning” as they go through pain.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and the complex layers it has within it. I wished the character for Catherine was more flushed out she ended up being a ghost at some points in the film. This does not make the film any less emotionally packed and artistically stunning.