Filmic Friday 230: The Last Black Man in San Francisco

If you are able to see this movie, do it.

Sometimes you watch a movie and it's just a movie. You sit back with your popcorn and your soft drink, you stare at the scene, and the pictures move, and you're watching a movie. It doesn't affect you. It doesn't make you uncomfortable or make you think or tell you anything new.

But sometimes, you go to a movie and you cannot deny to yourself that filmmaking is an art.

That actors are powerful beings.

That writers are something approaching gods of the heart and mind.

That directors are just as magical as painters when it comes to transporting you to another world.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is ART.

When I saw the trailer for it, I knew I'd like it - the sun-soaked scenery, the strange, quirky characters, the beautiful setting of California...

I was not in any way prepared for this to be as beautiful as it was.

This movie is the story of Jimmie Fails (playing himself), a black man living in, as you might expect, San Francisco. He lives with his friend Montgomery Allen, an aspiring playwright and director and artist (played by Jonathan Majors). We open on the two waiting for a bus into the city while a street preacher cries out against the dangers of the polluted waters and the hypocrisy of the cleanup efforts.

Majors' performance is exquisite, I feel. He's both ethereal and completely human.
Fails is amazing, with complete control over himself and his craft, and I'm completely in awe.

The two eventually give up on the bus, riding into town on Jimmie's skateboard in one of the most beautifully choreographed rides I've ever seen on film. With San Francisco's golden sun beaming down and the city coming alive around them, it's one of the most incredible ways I've been consumed by a film opening ever. I'm not kidding - with every turn and perfectly timed push, it was like some sort of beautiful hypnosis, bringing me into the world of the film and welcoming me into their lives.

Eventually, they arrive at there destination - a gorgeous mansion in the Fillmore District, which they carefully break into.

But they're not here to cause any kind of trouble...

Jimmie excitedly points out the proper paint color of the wrought iron gate before having Montgomery keep a lookout for him. It's now that we see why they've come.

They're here because Jimmie wants to paint the trim.

Yeah - it's a strange, wonderful movie. Buckle up

See, Montgomery gets distracted with his drawings (which are, by the way, incredible), so the homeowners suddenly appear. The wife begins hurling produce at Jimmie and asking him why he won't just leave them alone, all while her husband tells her that Jimmie's only being helpful and they are not calling the police and look, he's taking better care of the place than they are, and calm down!

My favorite part is where she tells him to GET THE F*** OUT OF HER BIRDIE BAAAAAAAAAAAAATH!

But why is Jimmie obsessed with this one mansion? Because when he was a kid, before his father lost everything to his drug addiction and conman ways, this was his home - a home he maintains was built by his grandfather.

This movie is about Jimmie's quest to reclaim this piece of his past - home of his only happy childhood memories, as it turns out - and to take back some of what San Francisco's gentrification has stolen from him and others like him.

Things really pick up when the rich white couple are forced to move out due to the woman's mother dying (which means the angry birdie-bath lady didn't even own the house!), and Jimmie sees his opening.

And, of course, promptly seizes it.

This movie isn't about the house itself, though. It definitely wants you to start out thinking that, sure, but that's not the purpose. It's not the San Francisco version of Flip or Flop. It's a movie about gentrification, the black experience in America, and the perfect impermanence of all things in life.

Because Jimmie doesn't own this house. No one does.

It's not about Jimmie finally getting his childhood home back. It's not about Montgomery putting on a play in the attic (though it's a truly potent scene). It's not about Jimmie's mother fluttering into and out of his life like whirlwind without ever touching down. It's not about Jimmie's father selling bootleg dvds out of a Single Room Occupancy unit. It's not about Montgomery's relationship with his aging, blind father and their love of D.O.A. It's not even about the Chorus - a group of tough guys who hang out in front of Montgomery's house.

It's about life and knowing when to let go of the past.

Although I'd love a movie about the Chorus guys here.
They rock.

Seriously, though, everyone in this movie is incredible. Danny Glover is fantastic as Mont's dad. Daewon Song (yes, the skateboarder) made me howl as Jimmie's uncle. But I feel like one of the actors to watch out for is Jamal Truelove, who played Kofi. He's the one in the yellowish jacket at the far right. The first time you see these guys, you don't think they're anyone important - just a bunch of guys hanging out and talking trash in front of the only house they haven't been chased away from.

But Kofi becomes such an important character, and it wouldn't have had anywhere near the impact it did from an actor who wasn't so good.



If you only see one movie this year, definitely make it this one. The Last Black Man is strongly anti-gentrification without being preachy, it refuses to crank up the white guilt (after all, nothing really belongs to anyone in this movie), but it lets you see the way things are from a perspective I cannot access on my own.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a masterpiece, and you should see it.

Also, it references I Got Five On It, which is awesome because who knew that would be the song every movie uses this year?!

Go Enjoy Something (preferably this movie!)

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