‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ and ‘The 14th’

By Bonnie Newman Davis

In the midst of fall film festivals in Charlottesville and Middleburg Va., I was excited to watch two new films: “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” and Ava Duvernay‘s new film “The 14th.” Both are riveting and packed with cultural and historical significance. I plan to see them again. The “Harlem” documentary was conceived and filmed by pioneering director William Greaves in 1972 and completed over 50 years later by his son, David Greaves.

Filmed over four hours in Duke Ellington’s Harlem townhouse, “Harlem” presents famous faces, names, wit, arguments, cocktails and so much smoke that it practically seeps through the screen. Just what one would expect back then in a space crammed with journalists and writers — notably Tom Poston, Gerri Major, Richard B. Moore — along with actors, musicians, artists and other luminaries such as Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, Richard Bruce Nugent, Eubie Blake, Arna Bontemps, James Van Der Zee, and Louise Thompson Patterson. My takeaway: The film is a gift to students of the Harlem Renaissance and for those who never heard of it.

Later, while viewing “The 14th”, I was stunned to see Devon Henry seated across the aisle from me! Mr. Henry, who is featured in the film, is founder of Team Henry Enterterprises. Besides his thriving business, Mr. Henry Devon Henry is also known for his company’s removal of Civil War statues and for his social activism. Ms. Duvernay’s film follows her conversations with scholars, politicians, and legal experts about the 14th Amendment. The film explores who gets to belong in America and the ongoing fight over birthright citizenship, according to IMDb.

My takeaway: While parts of “The 14th” are somewhat repetitive and an underscore in one scene plays James Brown’s “The Payback” longer and louder than I found necessary, Ava DuVernay once more delivers a powerful documentary that captures this country’s embattled course then and now.

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