Our take
An old friend shows up on the doorstep of a happy family home and brings a whirlwind of trouble with him. Charles Burnett’s startling parable is tinged with magic and creeping danger. It digs into the tensions between African American folklore of the rural South and the assimilated middle-class lifestyle out West.
This rift takes the form of Harry, whose disquieting presence throws his old friend Gideon’s Los Angeles home into disarray. Danny Glover is captivating as the devilish visitor, delivering each line with playful ease and simmering menace. Burnett’s sly narrative doesn’t boil down to good and evil but instead offers a layered and enigmatic exploration of identity.
What it won
Cannes
1 nom
Spirit Awards
4 wins · 3 noms
Sundance
2 wins
NYFCC
2 noms
LAFCA
1 nom
The story
An enigmatic drifter from the South comes to visit an old acquaintance who now lives in South-Central LA.
Elsewhere
"Glover gives a performance for the ages."
— Richard Brody
