I just happened on Ashes And Embers when it was being broadcast on the TCM channel. I had missed about the first ten minutes or so, but was intrigued enough by what I saw to record the rest of it and watch it later.
I can see why some people might have a hard time sitting through this film, but I actually found it very absorbing. There is very little story to speak of, and what there is is fragmented and non-linear. It is mainly vignettes of the principal character, a Vietnam vet named Ney (sp.?) Charles, interacting with various people in his city neighborhood and his grandmother out in the country, as he tries to resume a life after coming home from the war. There are a few moments of lightness, but mostly Charles' outlook is pretty bleak. The seemingly ever-present musical soundtrack is loud and cacophonous much of the time, but it does create a sense of chaos, which to me accurately conveyed the way life must have seemed to Charles at the moment. It was almost as if the soundtrack represented all the inner voices and images of the past in his head, which were working overtime to blot out any present connection he might try to form with the world. The people around him try to offer support, but cannot in any real way understand what the war has done to him.
The film does feel a bit long and the pacing drags in places, but the visuals throughout are very beautiful. There are some effectively intense dialogue scenes, particularly between Charles and his girl friend, and between Charles and his grandmother. I thought the lead actor, John Anderson, was really outstanding. This film is his only credit on IMDb, and I am disappointed to find that there doesn't seem to be any information at all about him anywhere online. In fact most of the actors in Ashes and Embers have very few or no other credits on IMDb (except for Barry Wiggins, who plays the protagonist's aspiring actor roommate here and has a long list of acting credits dating up to the present). I thought all the actors in the film were very effective, working in a low-key, naturalistic, almost documentary style.
I was not familiar with Haile Gerima, the director, before seeing this, but now I am interested in checking out his other work. Ashes And Embers will certainly not appeal to everyone, but if you are an adventurous filmgoer and like films that put you, as an audience member, into the middle of a human experience, then I'd recommend giving this one a try.