Reviews

I will never forget one gripping episode of The New People.It had to do with the budding romance of one of the white guys with the very pretty black female.The person who"tripped"the most over this daring relationship was one of the black males in the stranded group.

The reason I was so struck by this episode was that at the time I was going through some similar"changes"in my own life.I had befriended a couple of black women but also was alarmed and frightened by some of the reactions to these friendships among black men.Some whites were pretty hostile as well but 1969 was the time of Black Power and militancy so that vibe predominated back then.

Ironically,I was a big supporter of black causes(list provided upon request)but on a personal level that fact was often not considered during the heat of the times.

Train Ride is a film of intelligence,wit,social message,drama and humor all thrown together in a very coherent way to make for a viewing experience one will not soon forget.

The film is set at a historically Black College but its theme of date rape,misguided values and peer pressure is a universal one.I have seen or heard of many of the same things that director Dowdell portrays in Train Ride.Many black AND white men still laugh about"pulling a train on the bitch"not understanding the fact that this"bitch"is someone's daughter,sister or friend.Yet the film does not beat you over the head with the message.It shows instead of tells the story of a college Freshman played by MC Lyte who gets caught up in a situation that,while having traumatic consequences,seems very innocent to her at first.

The dialogue is very real and uncontrived.Ron,Ellis and Will seem to not even be following a script,but just flowing naturally.Katrina,played by MC Lyte,is a "round the way sister"we all know if we have had any exposure to the hood.The tragedy of the sequence of events lies in the fact that had "the brothers"just acted cool and treated the females with respect,their goals of romance and/or sexual connection most likely could have been realized sooner or later.

The ending was very creative and unexpected.Did NOT expect it to end like it did.Give this young Black director Mr. Dowdell much props for elevating the craft of intelligent African-American film.And hook up a copy of Train Ride on Amazon.This will be a wonderful addition to your DVD library!