ONCE UPON A TIME...WHEN WE WERE COLORED

ONCE UPON A TIME...WHEN WE WERE COLORED - (1995)

RATING - PG for thematic elements including mild violence, language and sensuality.

STARRING - Al Freeman, Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Leon

THEME - Racial discrimination, family, community, growing up in the South.

REVIEWS - Siskel & Ebert (4/4) 'TWO THUMBS UP'

STORY - The film begins in 1946 in a cotton field outside of Glen Allan, Mississippi. A young woman suddenly goes into labor and quickly delivers Cliff, the main character. The rest of the movie is about Cliff growing up in the Deep South from 1946-62. It's the story of Cliff's grandparents and aunt taking responsibility for raising Cliff when the family of his father refuse to have anything to do with him and his young, unmarried mother is unable to do so. It's about a community of African-Americans forced to live separately but (un)equally in a white dominated society where we see Grandad teaching little Cliff how to recognize 'W' and 'C' so he drinks from the correct fountain and uses the right bathroom. It's about a proud community that is willing to work hard and long for meager wages and still not accept charity. It's about a kind, white woman that keeps Cliff in supply of good reading when she realizes 'coloreds' aren't allowed in the library. It's about a community that worships together in a style and form that helps them overcome the daily oppression. And, finally, it's about hope that doing the right thing will eventually be rewarded. There is a feeling that this is probably very much what it was like to grow up in 1950's Mississippi. The only objectionable family scenes might be a brief fight in a bar setting where some sensual dancing between couples takes place and when Cliff and a friend sneak into the burlesque show tent at the circus. None of it is graphic or overemphasized. As one of the characters responded when asked why he returned to Glen Allan to visit, 'to remind me of why I left', so this movie should remind us of why we left discrimination 'officially' behind and why we must work to keep it behind. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 10/7/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD, ROGER EBERT