Cane River (film)

Cane River is a 1982 American romantic drama film that was lost until its rediscovery in 2013 and its subsequent re-release in 2018 and beyond. It was written, produced, and directed by Horace B. Jenkins. The film features the lives of African Americans in the US state of Louisiana. While the film premiered in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1982, Horace Jenkins died before the film could be released in New York City and beyond. The film was considered lost until a negative was recovered in 2013.

The film was subsequently restored, and a digitally remastered version of the film screened at the 2018 New Orleans Film Festival on October 22, 2018, after having been unseen for 36 years. Distributor Oscilloscope released it in select theaters in the United States in February 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was available via virtual cinema before premiering on The Criterion Collection's The Criterion Channel in May 2020. In the following August, Cane River was released on home video.

Following its re-release, Cane River received critical acclaim. Highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, it was lauded for its exploration of racial history and blending romance with political undertones. Despite some noted technical limitations, critics highlighted its pioneering portrayal of black experiences and its significance in American cinema.

Synopsis
The New Orleans Film Society described the film, "Cane River is set near Natchitoches, in one of the first 'free communities of color.' Richard Romain plays Peter Metoyer, home to fight for his land, and Tommye Myrick plays the headstrong Maria Mathis, reluctant to succumb to his charms just because he's the scion of a famous family. Together they confront schisms of class and color that threaten to keep them apart and that still roil America today."

Themes
Cane River delves into the intricacies of independence and the burdens of personal and collective history. A significant focus is placed on racial identities, emphasizing the interplay between race,  class, and societal structure. The economic disparities prevalent in society are not left unaddressed, along with the legacy of Black American history.

The story also touches upon the nuances of forbidden romance, and the web of relationships that individuals navigate through. History, both personal and cultural, especially as it pertains to Louisiana, is a recurring theme,   The film sheds light on the importance of personal and collective identity,  intellect, and the significance of one's roots.

Racial complexities and the trauma of slavery are meticulously explored, further delving into the caste systems that still have remnants in society. Themes of love are omnipresent, intertwined with land ownership and its implications. Lastly, the film brings to the fore conflicts revolving around class and skin color, emphasizing the significance of heritage.

Production
Horace B. Jenkins filmed Cane River in New Orleans and Natchitoches Parish in the US state of Louisiana; St Augustine Church in Isle Brevelle was used in some scenes. Plantation scenes were filmed on the Melrose Plantation. The production involved an all-black crew and featured an all-black cast. The film was financed by the prominent Rhodes family in New Orleans.

Sidney Poitier's daughter Pamela was originally cast as the female lead Martha Mathis, but she dropped out of the production and was replaced by Tommye Myrick. Richard Romain played the male lead. For swimming scenes, Romain taught Myrick how to swim.

The film's soundtrack includes music by New Orleans vocalist Phillip Manuel.

Premiere in 1982
Cane River premiered in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1982. The New York Times said at the time, it was "already a rarity: a drama by an independent black filmmaker, financed by wealthy black patrons and dealing with race issues untouched by mainstream cinema". Jenkins sought to have a national distribution of the film and its soundtrack, but he died on December 3, 1982, at age 42. Cane River was scheduled to screen in New York City in February 1983, but with his death, the film went unreleased. Richard Pryor, who saw a screening of Cane River before Jenkins's death, had offered to place the film with the studio Warner Bros., with whom he had an agreement to distribute films made by African-Americans, but its producers declined the offer.

Rediscovery in 2013
The film was not publicly available until 2013, when the film preservation organization IndieCollect uncovered a negative copy from the vaults of DuArt Film and Video. The Academy Film Archive accepted Cane River sight unseen. IndieCollect's president and the Academy Archive's documentary curator investigated the recovered film and identified the filmmaker and uncovered the background behind the making of the film.

Two years after a negative resurfaced, The New York Times's John Anderson wrote, "It has attained a certain mythic quality, connecting a disparate group of people across the country: New York preservationists dedicated to restoring it; a cultural historian in Louisiana devoting an academic paper to it; an archivist in Los Angeles fascinated with it." The cultural historian, Keilah Spann, watched a bootleg DVD and said the film dealt with colorism in a way no other film had before. Spann found some scenes to be too long, a detail confirmed by the still-living editor Debra I. Moore, who said it was her first film editing along with a "first" for other crew members. Horace Jenkins's son, Sacha Jenkins, who was 11 years old when Cane River was released, is researching the film to create a documentary.

Re-release in 2018 and beyond
A new 35 mm archival print was created by the Academy Film Archive and was mastered in 4K resolution by IndieCollect with support from the Roger & Chaz Ebert Foundation. The digitally remastered version of the film screened at the 2018 New Orleans Film Festival on October 22, 2018, after having been unseen for 36 years. It screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in January 2019. It also screened at Ebertfest in April 2019.

Film distributor Oscilloscope acquired in October 2019 the distribution rights to Cane River. Oscilloscope screened the film at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, NY on February 7, 2020, through February 20, 2020. It also released the film in New Orleans on February 7 and expanded to select theaters throughout the United States in ensuing weeks. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences screened Cane River in Los Angeles on November 1, 2020, with a panel discussion featuring lead actors Tommye Myrick and Richard Romain.

In its commercial release in two theaters on the weekend of February 7–9, Cane River grossed an estimated $10,240, which Deadline Hollywood said was "an OK debut for an indie re-release opening in two theaters". Following the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted US movie theaters in March 2020, Cane River was made available via virtual cinema, a film distribution strategy using video-on-demand streaming services to benefit art-house theaters, around the United States, including the BAM.

Cane River premiered on The Criterion Collection's The Criterion Channel on May 4, 2020. A month later, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement with the ongoing George Floyd protests, the service lifted its paywall for black-themed films, including Cane River, to be streamed for free.

In August 2020, Cane River was released on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

Critical reception
Following the film's re-release in the 21st century, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes assessed a sample of 16 reviews as positive or negative and said 100% of the critics gave positive reviews with an average rating of 7.7 out of 10. The similar website Metacritic said the film had "generally favorable" reviews, assessing seven reviews as positive, mixed, or negative and classifying all seven as positive with an overall weighted score of 80 out of 100. In June 2020, The Hollywood Reporter's film critics listed Cane River among "the 10 best movies of 2020 so far".

Richard Brody of The New Yorker praised it as a visionary work of art that seamlessly blends poetic cinematography with a compelling story. A.O. Scott of The New York Times echoed these sentiments, labeling it as a rediscovered treasure of independent cinema. Mike Scott of The Times-Picayune emphasized its significance beyond cinema, calling it a cultural artifact, a sentiment shared by Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter who found the film revelatory in its blend of living history and romantic drama.

Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com expressed admiration for the film's unique qualities, describing it as special and beautiful. In contrast, the film resonated less with Chuck Bowen of Slant, who appreciated its beauty and ambition but felt it lacked in narrative depth. Offering a more nuanced perspective, Roger Moore of Movie Nation characterized the film as dated, quaint, and tentative, while also acknowledging Horace Jenkins' efforts in presenting a distinct Black romance.

Direction
Brody depicted Jenkins's direction as emphasizing the inextricable ties between love and legacy. A.O. Scott praised the work as having the captivating atmosphere and the evocation of a particular time and place. Mike Scott highlighted Jenkins's ability to offer glimpses of various locations, adding a documentary feel to the film. Allen described Jenkins's direction as offering a unique cinematic valentine, highlighting the romance and resistance themes. Bowen, on the other hand, felt that Jenkins's production lacked the sophistication of other films, despite having its virtues. Linden found Jenkins's direction to be modest and affectingly old-school.

Cinematography
Jenkins and cinematographer Gideon Manasseh's work has been described as capturing the fullness of nature, with Brody noting their emphasis on the beauty and vitality of the landscape. This sentiment was echoed by Allen, who highlights Jenkins' focus on absorbing the scenic surroundings and the history of the region. In a similar vein, Moore praised Jenkins for capturing time-capsule-worthy images of the area.

A.O. Scott remarked on the success of the film's 4K restoration in capturing the essence of the original 35-millimeter print. Linden offers additional praise for Manasseh's cinematography, stating that it embodies potent documentary-style visuals that are evocative and atmospheric. Bowen noted the nostalgic sunlit compositions that suggest an Eden lost in time. Meanwhile, Mike Scott pointed out occasional discrepancies in framing and lighting issues.

Music
Allen praised Leroy Glover's ballads, considering them a significant component of the film. Similarly, Linden believed Glover's songs played a vital role in the film's narrative. Moore was appreciative of the rhythm-and-blues elements introduced by Glover in the soundtrack. Bowen felt that Peter's prose in the film mirrored the lyrics of its songs. Contrarily, Mike Scott found the music to be dated.