Provocative, angry, and deeply spiritual, Khalik Allah's Field Niggas is a meditative and experimental documentary thats simplicity only adds to its brilliance. Taking place on the cross streets of 125th and Lexington Ave in East Harlem, Field Niggas provides slow motion portraitures of a wide variety of individuals, overlaying their conversations in a way that provides an extremely vivid portrait of their individual experiences. The film is both expansive and deeply personal, capturing the sadness and loneliness of many, but also the bond of community, the culture, and the happiness which does exist in a place of poverty and homelessness. From portraiture to portraiture, the dialogue and image never actually matchup, remaining out of sync intentionally, doing so in a way that strips the various individuals from some of their individuality. While it may be a little jarring at first, it's a brilliant decision by the filmmaker, being a visceral way of expressing the sense of community and in a way making the plight of these overlooked individuals faceless, while somehow managing to let their individual voices be heart simultaneously. It makes a lot of sense that Khalik Allah was a photographer turned filmmaking, as the portraits and imagery which Allah are able to create perfectly cut through the body and reveal the inner essence of so many of his subjects. There is absolutely no judgement or preconceived notions throughout Field Niggas, as Allah sits back and lets his subjects voices be heard, but that doesn't mean he doesn't overlook the more negative attributes of these street corners, the drugs, domestic violence, etc, and I think that is a very important attribute. Field Niggas viscerally captures a lot of distinct opinions from various individuals, some with faults and struggles, some which are happy, showing how these overlooked individuals are no different than any other community, each capable of happiness, hate, despair, and love. One of my favorite subjects was a homeless man who was agitated by the idea that him and people like him couldn't be happy, explaining how in a way society itself decrees this isn't a possibility. What probably stands out the most about Field Niggas is just how mature of a film Khalik Allah has made, being not so interested in politics or blame, but more importantly in peace and love. The filmmaker makes sure to capture all the angst, sadness, and danger which exists on these streets, but he never lets it consume himself, understanding that a higher level of intellectualism will always prosper in the long run.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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