Somehow, incredibly, we at Asian Movie Pulse have received a film about Black violence in time for Martin Luther King Jr Day. This film comes to us from Filipino Italian director Angelo Reyes through our Submit Your Film Initiative. Though his third directed work, “21st & Colonial,” is not in the least about Asian identity or even about Asia broadly speaking, I personally find it intriguing for its subject matter alone. It is, after all, a testament to the breadth of topics which diaspora directors are attempting to cover.
“21st St & Colonial” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
But perhaps “21st & Colonial” is more of a personal story for Virginia-based Reyes. This 17-minute short is based on the real death of Joshua “Omar” Johnson in Norfolk, Virginia. In the film, things go from bad to worse for Omar (played by Ogden Buck). He first learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and has been disowned. His mother finds out about his grassy side hustle and tries to literally flush it down the drain. He loses whatever honest money he makes after a debtor swoops in to collect his earnings. When a check finally makes its way into his pocket, then, it seems like he's finally catching a lucky break. His hopes are soon cut short, however, when the police shoot him dead.
The film is tense and tragic, but ultimately feels generic. Strangely enough, the director's statement claims that this narrative – apparently based on a true story – involved careful research. Reyes points out that careful attention had been paid especially to the development of Carlos (played by Reyes himself), a manic police officer at the scene. For all of his research, however, Carlos is a flat foil. Aside from the few words thrown in here and there about his background (PTSD, ex-marine, clearly not in his right mind), he only splutters knee-jerk reactions and empty threats. It is almost as if Reyes is afraid of fleshing out the killer. Humanizing a police officer in a film about Black violence is almost taboo.
On the other hand, Buck falls naturally in his role. He seamlessly eases into his relationships with his cast mates, creating an easy-to-believe chemistry on-screen. Leah Anova's cinematography only accentuates Buck's skill as well. A plethora of close-ups build up a palpable tension between each character. The lighting likewise captures the richness of color on an otherwise bland, suburban landscape. For a relatively pedestrian setting in Norfolk, Virginia, Buck and the camera crew bring the film alive.
For all of its ups and downs however, “21st St & Colonial” is not an impressive work by any means. It is certainly polished, yes; its camerawork, for example, seems to go by the book. In doing so though, it just feels too formulaic. Reyes loses sight of the real Omar for the sake of the larger (silver) picture. The film absorbs Omar into a larger symbol of tragedy, extending his life into that of the many; Carlos is less of a human than he is a pig. Reyes fails to realize that Black lives matter — not just the movement, but that of each and every person.
