RUSTIN CELEBRATES THE ORGANIZER OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
A biopic of Bayard Rustin (played by Colman Domingo), the film Rustin reveals that the March on Washington of August 28, 1963, was a goal he sought since 1941. He was frustrated that nothing much happened in Congress after the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that schools must desegregate, and he felt that a large mobilization was needed to impress Congress to pass major civil rights legislation. But persuading other civil rights leaders was a major obstacle that he had to overcome. He proposed a rally at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles during 1960 but met opposition. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the largest civil rights organization, was content to rely on litigation. But he persisted and ultimately persuaded Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (Aml Ameen).
Directed by George C. Wolfe, the film provides information about Rustin’s background, mostly by references to his past scattered throughout the film. Raised by Quaker grandparents near Philadelphia, he sponsored the idea of Gandhian nonviolent protest that later defined the civil rights movement. He felt that he was born gay, was arrested for “lewd acts” in 1953, and was in an intermittent relationship with Tom (Gus Halper), a White male who backed his causes. At one point he joined the Communist Party but later renounced membership. His frustration over Jim Crow came to the fore one day when he tried to desegregate a Louisville bus in 1942, whereupon he was removed from the vehicle, bludgeoned, and he then set about planning what became the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, freedom rides, and many other civil rights causes too numerous to cite in the film. He tried in vain to activate the NAACP and other groups, though steadfast support consistently came from elderly A. Philip Randolph (Glynn Turman).
After he obtained approval for a major rally, the film demonstrates how he was able to organize a group of supporters to plan each logistical element of the rally, in particular favorable publicity that attracted supporters from southern states who rode chartered buses for hours to reach Washington, DC. He also gained security for the rally from 1,000 Black NYC without their weapons. He also had to overcome negative efforts of the FBI to discredit him personally. The “march” attracted 250,000, more than twice the 100,000 originally sought. At the end of the film, he plays the humble role of groundkeeper, picking up refuse after the rally.
As an account explaining how the March on Washington was conceived and organized, the Political Film Society has nominated Rustin as best film exposé and best film on human rights of 2023. MH
WAIKIKI MOURNS THE LIVES OF MANY NATIVE HAWAIIANS
Christopher Kahunahana, the first Native Hawaiian to direct a film, has decided to portray how some people occupying islands for more than a thousand years now feel strangers in their own land. The focus is on Kea (played by Danielle Zalopany), who is employed as a hula dancer for tourists, nightclub hostess and singer, as well as a Hawaiian language schoolteacher. She has left her husband Branden (Jason Quinn), evidently because he disapproves her singing for a “slut bar” and thereby abandoned duties as mother of their child; she shuns his later apology, reinforcing the view that he is an abusive husband. At first, she is living in a van owned by her husband, but one night her van runs into a homeless Japanese named Wo (Peter Shinkoda); she then decides to adopt him as her almost mute companion. Another night, while working, the van is parked in a location too long, confiscated by the county, and she joins his homelessness.
Why Kea would allow her life to deteriorate becomes the main puzzle of the film. One explanation is provided by flashbacks of how she was raised by a Native Hawaiian grandmother to respect the values of Aloha. Another is her belief, as stated while teaching, that maintaining land is perhaps the most important duty of humans because people cannot exist without proper care of land. After being cruised by five males in a restaurant, she shuns them by demanding that they show Aloha. Although some lush portions of the Islands are included in the film’s cinematography, most filming focuses on parts of the Islands that are cemented, in construction, or consist of storefronts of expensive shops along the main avenue in Waikīkī (the proper spelling for some reason not included in the formal title).
Waikiki, which begins by classifying itself as a “Fourth World” film, is therefore one of the saddest ever made. MH
COMMENT FROM NOMINEE
A note to thank you for the insightful, inspiring, and powerful piece you penned on our film “Sweetwater”. Your words resonate in my heart, points to a sequestered moment in hidden history, and exposes the truth within its relevance for current and future generations.—Martin Guigui, Director.