{"id":7256,"date":"2019-04-13T11:52:30","date_gmt":"2019-04-13T15:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7256"},"modified":"2019-04-14T12:20:30","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T16:20:30","slug":"review-guava-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7256","title":{"rendered":"Review: GUAVA ISLAND"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The best film of the weekend isn\u2019t in theaters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Music has always had the potential to move the oppressed more than a hail of deadly bullets. Whether it\u2019s the distinct rhythms of the blues as an outgrowth of hard times, the civil rights anthems of Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, or the anti-war songs ranging from Arlo Guthrie\u2019s humorous but subtly subversive \u201cAlice\u2019s Restaurant Massacree\u201d to Public Enemy\u2019s in your face \u201cBlack Steel in the Hour of Chaos,\u201d the power of music to effect political change is undeniable. And with \u201cGuava Island,\u201d Donald Glover and his collaborator\/director Hiro Murai deliver a fusion of music and film worthy of repeat viewing to consider its thematic place in our time of confusion and polarization.

Glover, perhaps channeling his Childish Gambino persona, plays musician Deni Maroon. A sensitive guy, Deni loves his island and in particular his girl Kofi (Rihanna). A local singing sensation, he promises to hold a concert for the people, which draws the attention of the island\u2019s strong-man Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie). Understanding the inherent danger that such a group event poses to his business and control, Red summons Deni and attempts to pay him to leave the island and take his girl with him. Red explains that the problem with being an artist is that you never know how people will interpret your art.

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Donald Glover’s secret project is now available for free on Amazon.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A thriller that takes place over a single day, we follow Deni as he woos his woman with the power of his melodious pipes and attempts to decide whether sharing his gift of song is worth the risk. It\u2019s a surprisingly edgy film, told in just 55 minutes.

The tight creative team responsible for the ground-breaking series \u201cAtlanta\u201d put their talents to work wonderfully on \u201cGuava Island.\u201d The writing by Stephen Glover gives us just enough, while not being heavy-handed or too obvious. I especially like how the script uses Rihanna\u2019s presence, giving her more time to emote rather than pontificate. \u201cBlack Panther\u2019s\u201d Letitia Wright grows up in this movie, playing a mother and friend of Kofi. Everything about the performances are natural, and they are set against fresh tropical backgrounds. That\u2019s Cuba serving as the location.

Don\u2019t try to adjust your set while watching \u201cGuava Island,\u201d the film is presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio (yet, still available in the UHD resolution), giving it an instant throwback visual look. The cinematography from Christian Sprenger, also an \u201cAtlanta\u201d alum, delivers a perfectly shot movie that appears to have made maximum use of natural lighting. The post-production process includes a film emulation, I would imagine, that gives the images a 16mm texture. And the design throughout accentuates lovely shades of blue. So much of the film is like a vacation postcard.

But lurking underneath the simple beauty is a narrative that uses the music of Childish Gambino to comment on the plight of the oppressed. And the message of revolutionary change through passive resistance haunts the final voice over. Don\u2019t retire Gambino, your people need you.

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Amazon gave us a nice weekend surprise with a free release of Donald Glover’s secret project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[350,1420,349,1416,1417,1421,1419,1418],"class_list":["post-7256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-childish-gambino","tag-christian-sprenger","tag-donald-glover","tag-guava-island","tag-hiro-murai","tag-letitia-wright","tag-nonso-anozie","tag-rihanna","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7256"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7272,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256\/revisions\/7272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}