User reviews

Premiering at Sundance, A Thousand and One tells the story of a mother and son, navigating against hardship, the weight of New York City policies, gentrification, and a secret. There's a feeling of tension throughout the film, waiting for what may happen to Inez and Terry, though it also evokes the edge and breathlessness that comes with living with the weight of poverty and NYC racism. For its beats about NYC history, the film serves reminders of the barriers faced by Black families in Harlem in 1990's and into 2000's. If there is a criticism, there are moments when the script could have been tighter, perhaps a bit more time with Terry. Teyona Taylor is a star for carrying so much of the emotional weight across this film, but also William Catlett as Lucky plus Josiah Cross and Aaron Kingsley Adetola as Terry are stellar.

This movie demanded a rating and a review from me ; that is how good it is. You to to the movies hoping to see something this well made and feel lucky if you get that result.

I Came out of the theater feeling so glad that I saw it. The first thing you have to say is that this is storytelling at its absolute best.

In the beginning a few scenes seem bit strained but because of the acting and direction the movie just gets better and better and without spoiling anything , you think you know what's going on but you don't which makes for a surprising plot twist at the end.

I am not black but this movie feels genuine and authentic in the way ' Emily the Criminal ' did. This movie would not have been made without ' independent funding ' : no studio movie this and no big budget or gimmicks, just great acting, story telling , concept and direction. Certain to be picked up by a streaming platform cuz maybe the the content they finance and produce will never come close to the quality of 'A Thousand and One '

The first 10-15 minutes of this film had me wriggling in my seat and wondering if I was going to be able to sit through it. It starts with the central character, Inez, a hard-faced inmate leaving Riker's Island and re-starting her life back in New York after an unspecified prison term. Inez is clearly a tough cookie and even her first meeting her son Terry on the street had me silently screaming "run, kid, run!" It turns out that Terry had been put in foster care and, when he ends up in hospital shortly after, Inez goes to visit him and decides to kidnap him from the authorities under whose care he had been placed.

However, I found myself getting sucked in to the story, as grim and sometimes hard to watch as it was. Here we had a woman who had nothing - no money, no home and few prospects - grabbing a child because she somehow believed she could give him a better life. Her first act after snatching him was to phone around former acquaintances to beg for a free place to stay and it was truly heartbreaking to watch her desperation and the glimpse of the life she had brought this child into.

Yet she manages to get on her feet and the rest of the movie follows her, Terry and the man she marries, Lucky, as they if not thrive certainly survive. As compelling as the human characters become, there is another star of this film and that is the New York neighbourhood of Harlem. With the liberal use of overhead shots and long street scenes we see the neighbourhood go from grungy through a gradual gentrification. This is reflected more intimately in a sub plot where their new landlord tries to manipulate the family out of their low rent home, and leave them with fallen ceilings, broken pipes and a non-functioning shower.

There is a plot twist at the end that made my jaw drop which I see some people didn't like, but which I thought fleshed out the character of Inez quite well and gave depth to her motivations. All in all a gritty movie that was hard to watch in some places, a raw and honest depiction of the brutal poverty in which people sometimes live, but underscored by excellent performance by all.

This features quite a strong performance from a convincing Teyana Taylor. She is "Inez" who decides that she wants to reclaim her young son "Terry" from his life on the streets of New York. What now ensues illustrates quite well the difficulties they both face as they both grow up with little by way of opportunity - or money - but determined to stick together despite their not always seeing eye to eye. Along the way, she marries "Lucky" (William Catlett), a decent man who offers some stability and it begins to look like "Terry" (by this stage played by Josiah Cross, but played well as a child by Aaron Kingsley Adetola) might just have a chance. Thing is, as the audience know by now, the relationship between mother and son is not as it seems - and the impending action of the authorities, coupled with a rather unscrupulous landlord, look like the wrecking ball is en route to their dreams. It meanders a bit too much for me, this film. It could have easily lost twenty minutes and the writing could have focussed better on developing the "Terry" character a little more, but it's still quite a powerful assessment of family values, loyalty and civic indifference that ought to make anyone sit up and take notice. It doesn't need a big screen - but is worth a watch on the telly.

This movie was so well done, from start to finish! The talented cast seamlessly conveyed the compelling storyline. Moving the audience through their heartfelt emotions. I really enjoyed the movie and every emotion I have was stirred. Highly recommend seeing it if you havent already. Teyana is an amazing actress!. I loved the 90s vibe, and I was completely shocked by the plot twist. I definitely wasn't expecting that outcome. I really enjoyed the movie and every emotion I have was stirred. Highly recommend seeing it if you havent already. Teyana is an amazing actress!. I loved the 90s vibe, and I was completely shocked by the plot twist. I definitely wasn't expecting that outcome. I guess my next question would be...what's next?

Since the trailer I was drawn to Teyana Taylor's portrayal of a mother trying to make ends met to raise her son. I was not disappointed in her performance in the slightest. She absolutely deserves recognition for her role in this film. William Catlett was also very good and had good chemistry with Teyana. All the other actors were also very convincing in their roles. I would just say I expected a bit more emotion from Josiah Cross in one of the scenes towards the end of the film.

This movie does a great job at portraying the grittiness of New York and the hardships that many have to endure. The film does a good job at building the relationships between the main three characters. The problem with this film is that it took too long to get into the climax. Constant situations would arise but it was apparent that there had to be something more to the story being told. The audience is left waiting too long for that major turning point in the film.

When the film finally got to that much awaited moment it did deliver a heartwarming moment. This is a very deep story and I would recommend people watch it for how real and relatable the story is.

Teyona Taylor is an EXCEPTIONAL ACTRESS!!!! She played the character Inez with passion. I felt for her as a mother who would do anything for her child, make a way out of no way.

Let me tell you, Hollywood is sleeping on this phenomenal woman. Her acting is impressive. She can be extremely emotional embracing all emotions. All the actors made this movie come to life. I cried, laughed, and talked to the TV. Lol. The unexpected ending made me wonder what's next for Inez. Did T buy her a house? What!!!?? Treat yourself to this movie. You will pleasantly entertained. I promise. You'll recommend it too.

"Why do you keep leaving me?" Terry ( Aaron Kingsley Adetola)

While this lament in the remarkable A Thousand and One is from a 6-year-old Harlem kid to his ex-con mother, Inez (Teyana Taylor), it stands for those who regret the quickly gentrifying part of NYC that is losing its black identity to white incursions.

So goes one of the best dramas of the year as that feisty mom steals the son she lost from a foster home to create a home that she regularly leaves to fight for with "no tools" other than her remarkable energy and combativeness. As we navigate the many episodes of her fight and watch her Terry grow into an intelligent albeit muted young man, first-time writer/ director A. V. Rockwell nimbly shows the changes overcoming Harlem in the nineties and the young Terry during 15 years rising academically to qualify for NYC's noted tech schools. As in Moonlight, we see a seamless transition among the three actors in the three stages of Terry's life.

One of the stars of this accurate and humane melodrama is DP Erik K. Yue, whose lens captures the changes with a sharp eye for the telling detail, like graffiti and corporate businesses replacing long-lost street artistry and bodega charm. Not needing such eye-pleasing photography are the aggressive policing tactics, notably the stop-and-frisk action that affected young black males more than any other minority. When Terry is accosted, his muted reaction emphasizes the quiet terror that dogged young men in nineties Harlem.

Not all is gloom in A Thousand and One, for Lucky (William Catlett, a combo of Idris Elba and Delroy Lindo) exemplifies strong black males with big hearts and the flaws that too-often accompany such gifts. Lucky marries Inez perhaps not realizing the collateral damage mother and son can inflict. Yet, he does contribute to their welfare, mostly in wise counsel. For Terry, he provides the impetus to make his own decisions. As in the drama itself, Lucky shows that tough conditions accompany a tough life, and self-reliance, like Mom's, is the key to eventual deliverance.

My guest critic on It's Movie Time, Mindy Mcfann, claims this is the best movie she's seen in years. Pay attention to her-she has impeccable taste about street drama.

A social drama that is not as predictable as first thought. Fashion model, actress and artist Teyana Taylor stars as the restless and determined Inez. I have never seen her in a film role before, but I can say that she carries this film to a great extent. The film is written by A. V. Rockvell, who also directs. The film largely succeeds in being an engaging drama about an era from the mid-90s and 10 years into the future. The film depicts difficult social conditions, this time the action is set in New York. The liberating thing about the film is that even though the main character faces a lot of opposition and is far down the ladder financially and socially, she never gives up. The film could easily have ended as a description of misery, but Teyana makes sure to give life and commitment to the main character who appears as a primal force who fights fiercely for what she believes in.

I won't reveal the surprising element here, but I'm looking forward to upcoming films from A. V. Rockwell. We need films that give us insight into exciting characters. Not everything has to be popcorn movies.

It's a drama about what makes a family set in New York City, mostly Harlem, between 1994 and 2005. It follows a high-energy but emotionally-damaged young African American woman who tries to create a family in compensation for the one she never had.

In 1994, Inez (Teyana Taylor) has just been released from a prison term for stealing. She is hot-headed and confrontational and has difficulty maintaining relationships. Inez sees her son on the street, a ward of the state, and in foster care. When Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola/Aven Courtney/Josiah Cross) is injured in a fall, Inez goes to the hospital and convinces him to leave with her secretly. She cautions him not to leave their living quarters because the state would seize him again. She arranges fake papers for Terry under a different name.

We follow a deep relationship grow between Inez and Terry. Later Lucky (Will Catlett), Inez's partner who has just emerged from prison, joins the small family. Lucky and Terry also develop their own relationship, even as Inez and Lucky have a sometimes rocky one. We learn that Terry is brilliant but has a very reserved personality. Counselors at school encourage him to attend a tech school for gifted children, to which Terry reluctantly assents. Finally, before Terry turns 18, multiple events cause chaos for Inez and Terry, with a particular twist at the film's end.

"A Thousand and One" is a taunt, well-done drama. Teyana Taylor, who is very striking in appearance and dominates the screen any time she is on it, carries the movie. Will Catlett is an excellent Lucky. Aaron Kingsley Adetola is remarkable as the six-year-old Terry. However, I found Aven Courtney and Josiah Cross less impressive as the teenage Terry. Perhaps the problem was the script; for someone as smart a teenager as the film portrayed Terry, he seemed too passive concerning his surroundings and his questions about his early personal history.

The acting performance of Teyana Taylor was outstanding and makes the movie worth watching solely for her portrayal. While the pacing of the movie may be slow at times, the engaging storyline keeps the audience occupied. I would like to express my gratitude to Focus Insider for inviting me to the premiere show and giving me the opportunity to explore a different genre of movie that I don't typically watch. The screenplay of the movie is consistent with the storyline, but the background music could have been better. This movie is suitable for all audiences except for those sensitive to certain language use. In my opinion, this movie is well-made and enjoyable for audiences who appreciate a good story, although it may not cater to those who prefer action-packed films.

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"A Thousand and One" is a story about the audacious and free-spirited Ines, who convinced the necessary crime on the path to redemption and kidnaps six-year-old Terry from the foster care system. This is director A. V. Rockwell's first feature-length film and it's a pretty strong debut while having a flawed narrative.

Rockwell's direction was good at depicting the hardships of mother and son in New York City especially in the Harlem community. Interesting themes were explored from the perspective of it's characters and Rockwell manages. The lead perfofmance from Teyana Taylor stands out as Taylor does a great job and portraying an heavily flawed character. The camerawork, production and soundtrack choice were pretty good as well.

It's clear Rockwell has an interesting story to tell but the narrative felt a bit bland at times as there are aspects that could have used some work. The performance from the son had different actors of ages and the child actors were pretty good but unfortunately the adult actors playing the son felt underacted and didn't fit the emotional weight. Most of the characters weren't as fully invested as the main lead's character which stinks because some of the side characters were important plot points in the film but they felt underdeveloped and not as interesting.

Towards the end, the last 20 minutes were the standing points of the film with great uses of performance and music to demonstrate the climax. Overall, despite being flawed and predictable, the film still standout with a strong performance and good intended direction.

Rating: B-

I was SO looking forward to this and the trailer really made it seem like it was going to be both really intense and a tearjerker.

For me, it failed to deliver on both of those points. I was bored and struggled to stay engaged. It wasn't until the final 15 or 20 minutes of the film that things started to get interesting enough to warrant sticking it out to the end.

Until then, it felt like a bunch of rather jumbled-up plot lines that didn't come together coherently. There wasn't a strong thread of a story, or at least there didn't seem to be, until the final act.

Plus, I never felt the emotional connection between the son and either of his parental figures -- or between the two parents themselves. None of them seemed particularly attached to each other, so even the final act carried a lot less emotional weight for me, because it didn't feel they'd "been through something" together -- it just felt like they had spent their lives living side by side, but never strongly connected emotionally.

There were a few lines here and there that were meant to telescope the parental figures' devotion to the kid... but they honestly fell flat, because they were just inserted into the middle of what felt like a bunch of random scenes of people just living their lives (I guess I should give points for realism... but I do watch movies to do more than just observe people living ordinary lives).

To be clear, it wasn't the actors' fault. Their performances were really, really good. I just don't think they were given a good enough script to bring things together. The story should have been tighter, more focused, and the script more intense, and then the underlying plot would have really sucker-punched the viewer (because it DOES have a unique plot).

The score is great. And with such good acting and a unique plot, I just wish the final product would have come together better.

THE GOOD: Teyana Taylor's performance in ONE THOUSAND AND ONE is transcendent. She makes you forget that this film wants desperately to be Moonlight (2016).

The set design and production design perfectly replicate Harlem during the deleterious eras of Giuliani and Bloomberg.

The hair & makeup and wardrobe captured the true essence of the times.

THE ISSUES: I wanted more from the story. It felt so incomplete. It's absent of any real stakes until the twist late in the 3rd Act.

Time leapfrogs so suddenly. Scenes transition with such abrupt finality. Title cards are used sparingly and inconsistently.

Will Catlett's Maryland accept was so prominent. If he's going to play Teddy Pendergrass 🤞🏾, he's gotta shake that accent fast.

For a 90s/00s period piece, this film deserved a better, more nostalgic score. The score seemed to belong to a totally different movie. If budget was a concern, it needed to license at least two 90s songs to give the setting and tone authenticity.

Overall, A. V. Rockwell's direction and screenplay were amateurish. She used techniques as a shorts filmmaker that don't translate to long form feature filmmaking. This film might have fared better as a limited series because it felt episodic, at times.

This film IS worth seeing in the theater for Teyana Taylor's performance.

"a thousand and one" a very strong story between a mother and son, but very slow

i kind of liked the movie, but also not like it in a way. The performances were amazing, teyana tylor was good. The way they showed the neighborhood, the geography of the place was very nice and natural. The cinematography was amazing, especially the colour grading, it had a retro effect with some grains kind of effect which was very amazing. The movie effectively show's the difficulties a single mom has to goes through. The movie was a nice portrayal of a black people in America.

The main issue with the movie is the pace. Even though the movie is not even 2 hrs long, i felt the movie was slow and dragging in many places. If they would have made the movie in a better pace, i think i would have liked it a bit more.

This movie pays homage to spike Lee movies I feel like. The realness of it all was great! Teyana Taylor was amazing and delivered a excellent role! The whole story for sure is something that can happen. I love the fact that the casting was perfect. Josiah cross was excellent also. I could relate in ways in this film touch me deeply and I would recommend this to family and friends to watch! I love the rawness of the film.the director of the film I want to applaud you for giving us a great movie to watch. And will continue watching for more of your work in future and support them at 100%. Great job!

Absolutely blown away by the performances in this film but especially by Teyana Taylor's. Teyana pours her heart and soul into this film and it really shows on the screen. This movie really showcases what someone would do for the person they care about and love. I think the writing and directing is really sharp in this film and I would be very surprised if it wasn't up for multiple awards come Oscar season. I also loved the detail this movie included for New York City in the mid 90s and the changes the city goes through as the years pass by. Great all around drama and I highly recommend viewing it. 9 out of 10 stars for me!

It's been said that a mother's love for her child runs so deep that she'll do virtually anything to protect her young. But is it possible to carry things too far? That's a question raised in writer-director A. V. Rockwell's debut feature about a mother with a criminal record (Teyana Taylor) who kidnaps her young son (Aaron Kingsley Adetola) out of foster care upon her release from prison. She questions the adequacy of the care he is receiving as a ward of the state, and so she snatches him from his foster caretaker and hides him away as she seeks to get her life together. Over the next 11 years (1994-2005), she largely succeeds at this, too, even in the midst of many challenges, including an often-uneven relationship with her former partner in crime (literally) (Will Catlett) and a rapidly changing New York, especially in her home neighborhood of Harlem. Despite a somewhat slow and unfocused start, the story deepens as this unlikely new family seeks to get on its feet. However, the somewhat-disjointed opening act sets the tone for the overall narrative, which gets away from its basic premise and starts meandering in engaging but largely unrelated territory, an issue that hampers the focus of this story until near the end. These shortcomings are defrayed to a degree by its fine performances, most notably Taylor and the gifted actors playing her son at ages 13 and 17 (Aven Courtney and Josiah Cross, respectively), but these portrayals aren't quite enough to overcome the inherent drawbacks in the direction of the script. With that said, though, the filmmaker nevertheless shows promise in telling moving tales, so here's hoping this start lead to better efforts in her future endeavors.

I hope Teyana Taylor doesn't pay too much attention to awards because she will be ignored for the reasons we all know - lol, not even esteemed black actresses with excellent performances in big studio films are recognized - but she has every reason to be proud of this work. It's a big surprise to me, as she didn't even take the easy route in this role, which would have been to go a bit over-the-top in the more emotional scenes. No, she always remains restrained, yet still able to convey all the emotions, making everything real and grounded. William Catlett as Lucky also has his standout moments, and all three actors who portray Terry - with Josiah Cross standing out, although I'm not convinced that 4 years is enough for a change of actor - add more emotional weight, humanity, and realism to it all.

A lot of credit has to be given, obviously, to what A. V. Rockwell was capable to build here. With a fairly simple story and a bit eventless for some, she always manages to keep us interested. The writer and director does it through characters that feel like real people, through a mystery that even when not being discussed, lingers in the air, and she does it by showing us a very vibrant city. You can tell that these people are just a part of that place, of that community, and that many more stories like theirs exist. In that aspect, her approaches to opportunities, the prejudices these people face from birth, the struggle against accumulating obstacles, and about gentrification are very good, even if not very deep.

The mood, the calmness that doesn't mean an absence of conflict, and the way it incorporates culture and music into the story, at times, reminds me of the excellent "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," but this is a story that - despite the parallels - has its differences, and the final act is as surprising as it is emotional, with scenes that will hardly leave my memory. One of the best of the year until now.

I never leave reviews on movies but I made it my business to make an account to leave a review because this movie is just that good. Teyana Taylor is an amazing actress! Everyone understood the assignment.. It's definitely a tear jerker. I cried 3 times. (Maybe more) it's definitely gonna make you feel several emotions. This movie exudes the 90's. And takes you through the era perfectly. I would've payed money to see this if I knew it was this good!!! We need more films like this. Films that entertain u and heal you at the same time. It's a 10/10! Definitely a must see. You won't regret it!!!!