WELCOME HOME BROTHER CHARLES   1975
Directed by Jaama Fanaka
90 minutes
In English

Wow, this is a tough flick to describe. It's a pretty notorious blaxploitation flick made back in the golden 1970s. The story is outrageous, centering on a black man who has been framed by a cop and sent to prison, where some vague medical experiments have been performed on him. When he leaves jail he is determined to get his revenge on the cops that had done him wrong... not with a gun, but in a way that I won't spoil here... but let's just say it is mind-blowing, and it turned the film into a kind of legend. It takes the story from a very black-power, black community vibe, into an almost supernatural realm. Very weird.

Is this just another exploitation flick? Well, not exactly. Because this wasn't made by someone just trying to make a lot of cash - it was directed by Jaama Fanaka of the L.A. Rebellion movement. I screened a movie called Bush Mama about a year ago, which belonged to the same group of radical black artists of the 70s. But this one is a very different beast. That's because the L.A. Rebellion filmmakers were not sticking to any single unified formula or vision, they were all going in wildly different directions. It was only the theme of black survival and history that was the common thread between them. The main actor Marlon Monte was described by one viewer: "The imposing Monte is one of the blinkiest actors of all time, but has the presence of a lion restlessly pacing his cage at the zoo. His climactic roar is the cry of a generation."

This was a very low-budget production, shot largely on the streets of L.A. without permits, in true guerrilla filmmaking spirit. Although it has a wicked storyline, the film is schizophrenic. There are parts that are laughable and just nuts, but then parts that are totally serious and absolutely relevant. The movie will often just turn away from the story, and start documenting how people actually lived in the streets. It also details the very real hardships that black people underwent in the prison system. All in all, this is a bizarre flick, unlike anything else... an out-of-this-world exploitation film that will make you wanna holler.

This will be a high-definition screening.