The mixture of historical tragedy (the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King) with believable fiction creates an update of Liam O'Flaherty's "The Informer " (filmed in 1935) that is deserving of discussion and belated honors. A sensational cast of stage trained black actors (including one Oscar nominee, Juanita Moore) plays out their grief and anger in this drama that shows young revolutionaries changing how the civil rights war will be fought, and well meaning white activists aren't welcome. Raymond St. Jacques, Ruby Dee, Roscoe Lee Browne and Julian Mayfield lead the cast with Max Julien in major part as a rebel hunted down after committing a rebellion related killing that stirs up anger against an informant (Browne).
I don't consider this blaxploitatiom in any traditional sense because there's a sense of sardonic irony in the typical fight against the white machine, and this is completely serious in the way it is presented as if it was based on truth. The scene where white ally Michael Baseleon is rejected and elder black leaders rip the younger revolutionaries for their methods is quite powerful, building in anger and showing differences between not only the races but the generations of the same race. Browne, playing a gay character, is brilliant as he faces the realization that he's now considered an outcast, for his betrayal, not his sexuality, and takes his punishment accordingly. The film is colorful, but there are no elements of humor inserted to lighten the atmosphere because the writers wisely deemed that inappropriate. Probably one of the deserving race films of classic status because it's absolutely no nonsense, and ultimately brilliant.
I don't consider this blaxploitatiom in any traditional sense because there's a sense of sardonic irony in the typical fight against the white machine, and this is completely serious in the way it is presented as if it was based on truth. The scene where white ally Michael Baseleon is rejected and elder black leaders rip the younger revolutionaries for their methods is quite powerful, building in anger and showing differences between not only the races but the generations of the same race. Browne, playing a gay character, is brilliant as he faces the realization that he's now considered an outcast, for his betrayal, not his sexuality, and takes his punishment accordingly. The film is colorful, but there are no elements of humor inserted to lighten the atmosphere because the writers wisely deemed that inappropriate. Probably one of the deserving race films of classic status because it's absolutely no nonsense, and ultimately brilliant.