Sunday 13 June 2010

Killer of Sheep [1977]


The debut feature of African-American filmmaker Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep is considered a cornerstone in American independent filmmaking, and rightly so. Shot in static, grainy black-and-whites and made on weekends for a budget less than $10,000 during Burnett’s student days at UCLA, the film’s making reminded me a lot of Nolan’s impressive debut film Following. Filmed in a Los Angeles ghetto resided mostly by coloured Americans, the largely plot-less movie offers touching, lyrical vignettes of the poor and socially isolated community. The cinéma-vérité style adopted works beautifully as the director goes about observing (without ever examining or putting on trial) the mundane lives of the residents and the simple joys and tribulations therein, through our simple-natured protagonist Stan, the movie’s eponymous killer of sheep, his family, his friends and acquaintances, and his squalid neighbourhood. The most striking aspect about the film lies in its excellent juxtaposition of the unspectacular lives of the adults with the borderline delinquent activities of the children and adolescents. The poignant, bittersweet and humane work is provided a dose of subtle, wry irony through its beautiful jazz and blues soundtrack, and a host of nuanced performances.









Director: Charles Burnett
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Americana
Language: English
Country: US

4 comments:

Just Another Film Buff said...

Whoa, just now I was speaking with Sam about this film. I'll repeat what I said there:

"Along with works like Wings of Desire, Winter Light and The Wind WIll Carry Us, I consider Killer of Sheep to be one of the 4 or 5 most life affirming films I’ve ever seen."

A brilliant film. I'm glad you saw and reviewed it.

Shubhajit said...

Thanks buddy. Well, that's a huge honour you've bestowed on the movie, and it sure deserves it. Thanks for sharing that with me.

Sam Juliano said...

"The most striking aspect about the film lies in its excellent juxtaposition of the unspectacular lives of the adults with the borderline delinquent activities of the children and adolescents. The poignant, bittersweet and humane work is provided a dose of subtle, wry irony through its beautiful jazz and blues soundtrack, and a host of nuanced performances."

Aye Shubhajit, some terrific perceptions here, and you've nailed it right down the line with this excellent capsule. JAFB had indeed been talking to me about this film the other day, and the life-affirming contention is a glorious one. I had the great fortune of seeing this film several years ago upon its resurrection, at the IFC Film Center in Manhattan, where director Burnett appeared to introduce the film and moderate a Q & A. It's a transcendent work, a poem, a song.

Shubhajit said...

Thanks a lot Sam for the impassioned appraisal of this heavily laurelled film. I envy your good fortune - I too would have loved to have watched the resurrected film, that was almost lost at one point, and given an introduction to it by Burnett himself. That must be a memory that you'll always carry with you. Thanks for sharing that with me here. And yes, JAFB's love for this film is quite overwhelming.