There is a viscerally powerful moment in this 1972 film classic that still gets to me. It's the look of desperately aching relief on Rebecca Morgan's face and the palpable sound of her breathless anticipation as she runs down the long dirt road to embrace her husband Nathan Lee for the first time since he went to prison. I almost get as tear-drenched as she does. Whether tenaciously holding her family together or dealing cautiously with the powerful white community, Cicely Tyson plays Rebecca with a searing combination of emotional eloquence and subtle nuance. Yet, her performance is not the dominant factor of the film, as director Martin Ritt, a specialist in human dramas set in the South, has directed a wondrous ensemble piece focused on a family of black sharecroppers in Depression-era Louisiana. Based on a children's book by William H. Armstrong and adapted by Lonne Elder III, the movie is blissfully free of stereotypes or dramatic manipulation.
The plot is compact. Nathan Lee takes his son David Lee raccoon hunting with their aptly named dog, Sounder (he howls when he sees them). The family hits particularly hard times when Nathan Lee steals a ham for his family and is carted off to a prison camp for a year. David Lee sets out to find him and happens upon a school run by Camille, a kindly but firm teacher. She teaches him about important African-American figures in history, and he becomes desperate to go to school. David Lee returns home, and soon after, a maimed Nathan Lee returns as well. Not wanting to take advantage of Camille's offer to stay with her to go to school, David Lee is convinced by his father that school is the only thing he should pursue.
It is a rare thing, a family drama that does not patronize to its audience and remains compelling to adults, and it is especially shameful that the film rarely resurfaces for new generations to enjoy. Beyond Tyson, Paul Winfield is equally affecting as Nathan Lee, and in the pivotal role of David Lee, Kevin Hooks (now a successful TV director) brings strength to his plaintive performance. Effective in smaller roles are blues musician Taj Mahal as family friend Ike (he also provides the evocative period music), Carmen Mathews as the conflicted Mrs. Boatwright and Janet MacLachlan as Camille. Intriguingly, Hooks directed a 2003 Disney remake and cast Winfield as the teacher in his last role before his death. In need of a makeover and a treatment deserving of the film's quality, the 2002 DVD has a decent though not outstanding print transfer and a bare minimum of extras (photo galleries, cast biographies).
The plot is compact. Nathan Lee takes his son David Lee raccoon hunting with their aptly named dog, Sounder (he howls when he sees them). The family hits particularly hard times when Nathan Lee steals a ham for his family and is carted off to a prison camp for a year. David Lee sets out to find him and happens upon a school run by Camille, a kindly but firm teacher. She teaches him about important African-American figures in history, and he becomes desperate to go to school. David Lee returns home, and soon after, a maimed Nathan Lee returns as well. Not wanting to take advantage of Camille's offer to stay with her to go to school, David Lee is convinced by his father that school is the only thing he should pursue.
It is a rare thing, a family drama that does not patronize to its audience and remains compelling to adults, and it is especially shameful that the film rarely resurfaces for new generations to enjoy. Beyond Tyson, Paul Winfield is equally affecting as Nathan Lee, and in the pivotal role of David Lee, Kevin Hooks (now a successful TV director) brings strength to his plaintive performance. Effective in smaller roles are blues musician Taj Mahal as family friend Ike (he also provides the evocative period music), Carmen Mathews as the conflicted Mrs. Boatwright and Janet MacLachlan as Camille. Intriguingly, Hooks directed a 2003 Disney remake and cast Winfield as the teacher in his last role before his death. In need of a makeover and a treatment deserving of the film's quality, the 2002 DVD has a decent though not outstanding print transfer and a bare minimum of extras (photo galleries, cast biographies).