On S List of Movie Reviews
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Sounder (1972)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
2/21
2/21:
To counteract the wave of raw films coming out of the Blaxploitation genre, Sounder is a tough, uncompromising
Louisiana picture about a family of black sharecroppers.
Filled with gospel music, the movie was shot on location in two parishes: East Feliciana and St. Helena. In many ways,
it resembles Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored. Both are
period pictures involving a black boy who goes through a series of incidents and dignified male figures as his role models.
It's Paul Winfield who provides a quiet intense power and therefore sets the tone from start to finish. As a result, he was
rewarded with an Oscar nomination. Kevin Hooks is outstanding as well, playing his son. He went on to direct
Passenger 57 starring Wesley Snipes.
Cicely Tyson passed away recently at the age of 96. When Cicely was 47, she achieved a major breakthrough in Sounder
after turning down numerous roles that were beneath her which set off a four-year drought since
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. As a reward, Cicely Tyson earned her
sole Oscar nomination. As the first ever pair of black thespians to earn Academy Award acting nominations for the same
film, she and Paul Winfield reunited for King.
What I like about Sounder is how much it grew on me. There are some tough situations, yet the central theme is the
family sticks together through thick and thin. The father telling his son not to mind their current predicament but to use
education as a way out is correct. Like
Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored, those who knew better
moved to north to escape the social injustice.
All in all, it's the powerful performances that make Sounder a worthy film about the black experience of living
in the Jim Crow South during the 30's.