Hidden Movie Gem: “Eve’s Bayou”

Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from Jace Serrano:

Title: “Eve’s Bayou”

Year: 1997

Writer: Kasi Lemmons

Lead Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Jurnee Smollett, Debbie Morgan

Director: Kasi Lemmons

Plot Summary: Ten-year-old Eve Batiste lives with her family in a well-to-do black community in 1960s Louisiana. Eve is shocked when she witnesses her father engaging in adulterous behavior with a family friend one night. As the summer unfolds, she uncovers more evidence of his infidelities, and turns to her sister, mother, and aunt for guidance; their reactions range from denial to suppressed rage. The accusations take their toll on the family, and the events surrounding them force Eve to learn difficult lessons about truth and love.

Why I Think This Movie Is A Hidden Gem: This movie is a treasure for a number of reasons. It is primarily a coming-of-age story in which we see the main character experience a number of events that will facilitate her maturation into a woman. But it is also a commentary on the unreliability of memory.

The film begins with the following voiceover: “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.” The comment comes from Eve as a grown woman, reflecting on that fateful summer. She knows that it changed her and her family forever, but she is not quite sure if everything happened as she remembers it. This theme is reinforced throughout the movie — we see Eve questioning the things she sees and the things she hears, often due to interpretations given to her by various family members. As a young person, her perceptions are easily molded by those with a desire to have her see things a certain way.

The movie is also notable for the way it incorporates elements of the supernatural into the main plotline, a natural fit given its Louisiana setting. Moreover, it depicts the life of a wealthy black family during the Civil Rights era — a world we do not see very often in film. Lastly, it features three generations of prominent African-American actresses — the legendary Diahann Carroll, who was the first black woman to star in her own TV series in a non-domestic role (“Julia”); Lynn Whitfield, an Emmy winner for her portrayal of Josephine Baker; and Jurnee Smollett, well-known as a former cast member of the popular sitcom “Full House”. It is also written and directed by a black woman, a rarity at the time.

I’m not alone in my opinion of the movie’s specialness — it won the National Board of Review award for Outstanding Directorial Debut and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Further, the late great Roger Ebert called it the best movie of 1997.

My Favorite Moment In The Movie: Mozelle Batiste Delacroix, Eve’s aunt and a psychic, reflecting on the violent deaths of her past lovers as she stares in a mirror.

My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie: Mozelle trying in her dark way to comfort Eve over her sadness about the turmoil engulfing the family:

“Life is filled with goodbyes, Eve, a million goodbyes, and it hurts every time. Sometimes, I feel like I’ve lost so much, I have to find new things to lose. All I know is, there must be a divine point to it all, and it’s just over my head. That when we die, it will all come clear. And then we’ll say, “So that was the damn point.” And sometimes, I think there’s no point at all, and maybe that’s the point. All I know is most people’s lives are a great disappointment to them and no one leaves this earth without feeling terrible pain. And if there is no divine explanation at the end of it all, well… that’s sad.”

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: The differing ways the women in the family handle Eve’s pronouncement of her father’s infidelities; the alternate versions of the major incident involving Eve’s sister, which cause Eve to question who she can trust.

Movie Trailer:

Thanks, Jace! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!

Tomorrow: Another Hidden Movie Gem!

Note: At this point, we have 28 guest posts. We are shooting for 31. If you’d like to submit a post for one of your favorite Hidden Movie Gems, please use the above template and email to me.

Also I’m looking for a special horror gem to post on Halloween Day.

You’ve done a great job so far, folks. Let’s finish this series strong!