This is a study of music as cultural identity, and of the black struggle, dressed up in the lazy guise of a blaxploitation flick (really it's more of a jazzsploitation flick). The narrative is contrived and the story wandering. But that's not really what this is about.
This is about Jazz. And the presentation of jazz as a cinematic language in this movie is breathtaking. On every technical front this film is stunning. The art direction, photography, editing, sound mixing and overall directorial vision are astounding, especially considering the budget ($13,000+).
It's packed with images and music that take your breath away. No other film that I've ever seen captures the power of jazz and its role in the African American fight for equality like this film does. To think that this was Larry Clark's UCLA thesis is just mind-blowing.
It's sad that we only have three films from him. This movie is really more of an artistic document of a movement, a people, and a music than it is a movie, but as such, it's spectacular.
