Daughters of the Dust (1991)
This was a challenging watch, but mostly in a good way. It is always an unique experience to see something about a culture I know absolutely nothing about and told in a way that is very foreign to what I am used to movies being like.
What I found fascinating about this was the overall theme of dealing with cultural history, ancestry and heritage. How a society evolves over the time while maintaining an awareness of their history and culture, and the conflicts that surfaces between the younger generation that are drawn to the modern civilization and the older generation that feel like their identity will be forgotten and lost to time.
I find all those topics immensely interesting and I can’t recall many other movies that explore those themes. This movie though may require more time and rewatches, because its structure is very dreamy and experimental. There is hardly any plot and it is difficult to get a grasp of the different characters, but the emotions still comes through.
The overall aesthetic really made me think of the Danish Skagen Painters like this picture. The beautiful beach location where this movie is shot is the perfect setting for such a story. There are no cities or modern infrastructure, just small items like books and modern clothes to contrast things on what is at stake.
Rating: 3.5