Eve's Bayou

The ghost of Tennessee Williams hover over "Eve's Bayou". The action takes place in a moss draped Louisiana backwater, and the family under observation (in their big gracious bayou house) is ripe with desires, disappointments, and the mysterious scent of sex as any in Mr. William's neighborhood. But the notable accomplishment of actress-writer Kasi Lemmons in her feature directorial debut is in creating a landscape quite beautiful and entirely her own - a fluid, feminine, African American, Southern gothic narrative that covers a tremendous amount of emotional territory with the lightest and most graceful of steps. The story belongs to young Eve Batiste. "The summer I killed my father, I was 10 years old," a grown up Eve announced in a provocative prologue voice over. But the drama unfolds (in an unspecified bygone era when well to do woman wore gorgeous dresses to parties in their own homes) is far more shape shifting than such an audience grabbing statement can convey. Eve's father, Louis, is a suave, popular doctor and gentle family man who's also a womanizer - a flaw that bedevils Eve's graceful mother and especially torments Eve's older sister, Cisely, who adores her daddy more than she should. Eve, meanwhile worships her big sister. And in reaching out to support Cisely in a primal sexual struggle neither girl understand, Eve turns first to her father's sister Aunt Mozelle a vibrant, enigmatic woman infused with good-witch spiritual powers, and then to Elzora a voodoo priestess with potent bad witch abilities. Lemmons thus lays out big themes - the little seductions of fathers and daughters - the thick bond between sisters - the power of dark and light intentions in the material world. But she covers any traces of "heaviness" with shimmering, dream state visual elegance. And she makes up for any rough spots from the movie's younger actors with with a lovely score, and a great soundtrack of classic jazz and blues.

"MEMORY IS A SELECTION OF IMAGES, SOME ELUSIVE, OTHERS PRINTED INDELIBLY ON THE BRAIN. THE SUMMER I KILLED MY FATHER, I WAS 10 YEARS OLD"

With those shocking opening frames from the movie, 'Eve's Bayou'(1997), I was hooked from start go.

'Eve's Bayou' is an anomaly. It has achieved a rare distinction of excellence in all departments of film making; from the direction to the writing, from the acting to the cinematography.

Here was a film not content with telling a tale of nostalgic retrospection. Instead, it shocked the senses of the unsuspecting viewers with an eerie collage of imagery, underscoring the chilling suspense with an undercurrent of tumultuous emotion (jealousy, loss and sadness; anger, vengeance and guilt) all culminating into the inevitable foreshadowed tragedy.

But of course, this is far too distinguished a film to present an easy resolution. From there spring forth the painful revelation on the very essence of memory and the perception of truth, distilled and faceted with the passage of time. A valuable lesson indeed.

Poetic and shadowy, the dream-like moods sustained throughout this poignant film is its over-riding strength. For here was a film which sights and sound has transcended the mere plot convention of its humble genre origins. Thankfully, the film turned out the better for it. Coupled with the celebrated fact that this was the product of a first time director(Kasi Lemmons), one can't help but feel the divine intervention bestowed upon this film to make it such an magically entrancing experience.

Alongside 'Shawshank Redemption' and 'The Sweet Hereafter', 'Eve's Bayou' certainly ranks as one of the most hauntingly beautiful piece of cinema ever committed to film.

The first time I saw this film I rated it 8; the 2nd time it got a 9. There is much visual beauty in the film: a lovely, serene setting and many gorgeous women. The film focussed on the devastation caused by a father who could not resist beautiful women even though he loved his family. As the film ended, I was left counting the number of people who would have considerable guilt to deal with but the end was, nevertheless, very satisfying.

This was a delightfully good movie. Set in the Louisiana bayou country in the 60's, it is a wonderful story of a well-to-do black family caught up in family tensions that drive the plot but never overpower the family's love for each other. Infidelity, an over-protective mother, the psychic aunt's tragic loss of loves and a delicious dose of voodoo all make this a good watch. The child actress, Jurnee Smollett as Eve, delivers a beautiful performance with talent far beyond her years. Debbie Morgan is terrific as the fortune-telling wise, but cursed-in -love Aunt Mozelle.

Lynn Whitfield and Samuel L. Jackson are also superb as the parents whose complex and troubled relationship's problems spill over onto the children, especially the two daughters, Eve and Cisely. Cisely sees herself as a buffer comforting her father and trying to protect him from her mother whom Cisely sees as a rival for her father's affections. Eve bounces around amidst the angst of being a middle child and the desire to understand the adults' world. This definitely a movie to see. It's a shame that jewels like this get overlooked in the usual Hollywood hype machine.

I love to discover that a film which I have never heard of turns out to be a gem, especially when it makes you think. Mind candy it is not.

I came across this film in the budget DVD section of one of the chain stores when I was buying a bunch of films that I had never heard of to watch when it got too hot in summer to move outside. After it had lain around for several months, I finally got around to watching it, and it just blew me away!

This film held my attention from the opening scene. To begin with, it was set in a completely different world - Louisiana, which may be an American state, but is still "foreign". The film contained elements of mystery, family life, and infidelity in an exotic mix spiced with voodoo. The story centered around an upper middle class creole family, descended from a Frenchman and a freed African slave, who bore her liberator 16 children!

The film began with a party at the elegant home of the Doctor, Louis, the father of the child Eve and philandering husband of Roz. The family included Louis' mother and sister, who had the gift of second sight and who "was not unfamiliar with the inside of a mental hospital." From that party, events unfolded, the significance of which depended on the perception of the participant. Eventually tragedy strikes, but was it provoked or did he have it coming?

Not only was the setting and story oh so different, the performances were excellent, including the small cameo roles, and the background music just so haunting that I agree with all those reviewers who found it to be one of the best films ever.

I would just love to see what this group would do with an all black version of "Streetcar named Desire."