Rating: NR
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 01/03/1992(USA)
Release Date: 06/27/2000
Dubbed: English
Sound: 2
Run Time: 113 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Kino
At the turn of the century, West African slaves were brought to a small island near South Carolina to labor in the indigo trade. Isolated in the swampy atmosphere, the Gullah community was built based on ancient Yoruba traditions. They spoke in a distinct dialect, a combination of English and West African languages. This unique community is explored in Julie Dash's debut feature Daughters of the Dust, a costume drama about the Peazant family, a fictional group of Gullah natives living on Ido Landing. The secluded family experiences conflicts surrounding religion, industrialization, and tradition. The mystical matriarch
Nana (
Cora Lee Day) holds true to the beliefs of their anscestors, while
Haagar (
Kaycee Moore) can't wait to move away.
Yellow Mary (
Barbara O) returns from a life as a prostitute in Cuba with her girlfriend, and gets morally attacked by the reformed Christian
Viola (
Cheryl Lynn Bruce). Meanwhile, indifferent
Eula (
Alva Rogers) is pregnant with a baby that may or may not be the result of a rape. While the story doesn't attempt to follow a standard Eurocentric narrative, the plot revolves around a picnic on the shore in honor of the family members who chose to move to the prosperity of the north. The narrator is a spirit called the Unborn Child, who appears sometimes as a rambunctious little girl. A photographer accompanies the group to capture the events on film.
~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
