New Book for Cannes Film Fest at 80! (2027)
Caméra d’Or Winning Films (1978-Present)
Like Anthony Drazan, who directed the indie Zebrahead (1992), an interracial drama, helmer Marc Levin dispels the theory that white filmmakers can’t provide an authentic view of African-American issues.
Slam, his powerful debut, defies easy categorization in terms of genre. Part gritty prison drama, part inner-city ghetto chronicle, the tale offers a compassionate plea for a new direction for black males if they are to survive oppression in white-dominated society.
Grade: A-
| Slam | |
|---|---|
 |
|
Levin, an accomplished documentarian who has previously explored troubled youth, street gangs, prison life, and the justice system, blends narrative and nonfictional conventions. Based on first-hand information, obtained by Levin while observing prison life, and casting a number of men who have served in jail, Slam is imbued with raw intensity and cinema-verite seldom seen in feature films.
Ray Joshua (Saul Williams), a product of a housing project in Washington, D.C., lives in a war zone known as “Dodge City” because of the ongoing gang warfare. He lives by his wits, making a meager existence through minor drug dealings. Endowed with a natural talent for language, he expresses himself through street poems. One summer night, while talking to Big Mike, his drug contact, the latter is gunned down. The police arrives and Ray is busted for suspicion of murder as well as possession of pot. Thrown into jail, Ray faces new dangers that make his life as risky as it was outside prison: Two rival gangs vie for his membership.
A public defender explains to Ray that, as a black ghetto male, there are three options: He can fight the charges but if he loses (which is 99 percent probability), he’ll get at least 10 years; he can turn snitch and rat on his friends and walk free; and he can cop a plea to the pot charge and serve only two years. For practical reasons, his lawyer recommends to grab the third option.
At the cellblock, Ray befriends Hopha (Bonz Malone), a gang leader who first tries to persuade Ray to join his crew. But, later, Hopha understands Ray’s refusal to participate, and out of respect for his art gives him a pad of paper to pursue his writing. Some romantic interest is introduced in the figure of Lauren (Sonja Sohn), a volunteer who runs a creative writing workshop and encourages Ray to use his gift to voice the anguish of his lost generation. Funds for Lauren’s program are cut and she leaves, but it’s clear their relationship will continue.
When the rival gangs begin yet another fight at the yard, Ray unleashes his anger in a dazzling display of lyrics that leaves the men stunned. With Hopha’s help, Ray returns to “Dodge City,” only to realizes that Big Mike is not dead, but had lost his vision. It’s the confrontation between the two men, with Hopha demanding retaliation and Ray insisting that revenge just perpetuates the vicious circle of killing, that conveys the film’s message, carrying it way beyond the cautionary tales of Boyz N’ the Hood and Menace II Society. Ray claims that gang warfare destroys the black community and doesn’t achieve anything.
Slam demonstrates the origins of street poetry as an art form and its psycho-political functions. Levin gives his film a spontaneous, free-loose form that fits its unstable milieu through the use of a restlessly mobile, hand-held camera and intimate close-ups of the protagonists.
A rather deep moral conviction marks the fervent performances by real-life poets Williams and Sohn, who wrote their own material.
End Note
Slam, a searing prison drama, which starred Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, and Bonz Malone, began a hip-hop trilogy.
It was followed in 1999 by Brooklyn Babylon, a fable inspired by the “Song of Songs,” starred Tariq Trotter, Bonz Malone, and featured music by The Roots.
In 2000, Levin directed Whiteboyz, a comedy about white kids who want to be black rappers, starred Danny Hoch, Dash Mihok, Mark Webber, and Piper Perabo.
Credits:
Directed, written by Marc Levin, story by Levin and Richard Stratton
Produced by Henri M. Kessler, Levin, Stratton
Cinematography Mark Benjamin
Edited by Emir Lewis
Music by DJ Spooky
Production: Blowback Productions; Off Line Entertainment Group
Distributed by Trimark Pictures
Release dates: Jan 20, 1998 (Sundance); Oct. 7, 1998 (US)
Running time: 100 minutes
Box office $1 million
Alambrista! (1978), US
2. Northern Lights (1979), US
3. Adrien’s Story (1980), French
4. Desperado City (1981), West German
5. Half a Life (1982), French
6. The Princess (1983), Hungarian
7. Stranger Than Paradise (1984), US
8. Oriana (1985), Venezuela
9. Noir et Blanc (1986), French (woman)
10. Robinsonada or My English Grandfather (1987), Soviet-Georgian
11. Salaam Bombay! (1988), US-Imndoa (woman)
12. My 20th Century (1989), Hungary (woman)
13. Freeze Die Come to Life (1990)
14. Toto the Hero (1991), Belgium
15. Mac (1992), US
16. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), Vietnam
17. Coming to Terms with the Dead (1994)
18. The White Balloon (1995), Iran
19. Love Serenade (1996), Australia (woman)
20. Suzaku (1997)
21. Slam (1998), US
22. Marana Simhasanam (1999)
23. Djomeh (2000)
24. A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
25. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
26. Seaside (2002)
27. Reconstruction (2003)
28. Or (My Treasure) (2004), Israel (woman)
29. Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), US (woman)
30. The Forsaken Land (2005)
31. 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), Romania
32. Jellyfish (2007), Israel
33. Hunger (2008), UK (Black)
34. Samson and Delilah (2009)
35. Año bisiesto (2010)
36. Las Acacias (2011)
37. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), US
38. Ilo Ilo (2013)
39. Party Girl (2014)
40. Land and Shade (2015)
41. Divines (2016)
42. Montparnasse Bienvenue (2017)
43. Girl (2018), Belgium (Gay director)
44. Our Mothers (2019)
45. Murina (2021)
46. War Pony (2022), US (woman)
47. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023)
48. Armand (2024)
49. The President’s Cake (2025)
50. ? (to be announced May 24, 2026)
