Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
The Harder They Come
May 25th 2009 06:33
David O'Connell is a guest writer on 20/20 Filmsight, and has his own excellent movie review site at Screen Fanatic.
The first thing that strikes you about Perry Henzell’s seminal film, starring rising reggae star Jimmy Cliff, is the need to hit the subtitles button to appreciate its nuances, for the Jamaican variation of English can be utterly impenetrable at times. A booming cult classic and the film that finally escorted reggae to the rest of the world via America, The Harder They Come is a fluid, colourful, and sordid reflection of island life in the early 1970’s.
Set in the harsh urban sprawl of West Kingston, Cliff is Ivan Martin, a poor country boy seeking fame and fortune in the city. Immediately he finds himself seperated from his possessions at the hands of a con man, brutally exposed to the law of the streets, and though he dreams of a music career, he now needs to confront more practical concerns to earn a crust in the meantime. Fruitlessly he searches for work, begging for handyman duties at the doors of wealthy folk, before assuming a temporary post on the property of a fanatical preacher (Basil Keane) doing odd jobs. Here he meets Elsa (Janet Bartley), a God-fearing young woman who has called the preacher her guardian most of her life, setting up a grim contrast between the waywardness that will later afflict Ivan's life and the duties of a straighter path to righteousness.
His big break soon comes after making a delivery to a record studio for the parish, but after his title song is met with offers of only $20 by Mr. Hilton (Bob Charlton), the head honcho who holds a monopoly on the city's musical landscape, Ivan feels cheated. Needing to escape the confines of the reggae-intolerant preacher and embittered by the lack of respect shown for his talent, he gets in an ugly scrape with a parish offsider, a knife fight that sees him arrested after spilling copious amounts of his opponent's blood (looking suspiciously, it has to be said, like bright orange paint!)
So begins a rapid downward spiral into criminality for Ivan as he hooks up with Jose (Carl Bradshaw) who assigns him a negligible role within his drug dealing business. He soon becomes intolerant of his lowly status however, looking for a larger cut, but his assertiveness is hardly met with open arms by Jose who sets the cops on Ivan’s trail. He becomes a wanted man as, ironically, his song soars in popularity, the record company keen to cash in on his sudden infamy. Bodies are left strewn across the city as the film quickly devolves into an unholy convergence of bullets, bible-bashing and balladeering, Reggae-style! Well, sort of!
Swearing revenge against Jose and the authorities, Ivan flees, dodging the spray of ammunition and ducking for cover, and yet savouring his freshly-secured reputation. Naturally, in the manner of all just anti-heroes, it soon becomes apparent that he's doomed but not about to lie down and willingly accept his fate without a final inglorious, futile attempt to take a few more oppressors down with him.
Henzell himself stresses that the film is predominantly about those he categorises as victims of poverty and their own ignorance in his homeland; despite effusive rhapsodizing over the glamorous notions of rebelliousness that Ivan becomes besotted with, the fundamental sadness of this tale can be attributed to the destructive limitations of his reaction to the world around him. Driven by a rabid desire for wider recognition, Ivan gladly and willingly substitutes fame as a recording artist for a fleeting notoriety as a criminal, unperturbed at becoming the subject of a huge manhunt as his rampage spins out of control. The two deluded notions, with only their end results in mind, become sadly interchangeable in his thinking.
There’s no doubt the screenplay lacks tightness overall, but there’s such raw energy in its execution, a crude and compelling sense of commotion that you can’t help revelling in it and in many ways the film has stood the test of time remarkably well. The spirit of careless revolt against the oppression of authority that informs Cliff’s title song and so many others is upfront and skillfully emphasised by Henzell’s occasionally showy direction. Cliff seems a trifle wooden as an actor at first but quickly develops a looser, believable approach as he relaxes into the role. The supporting players are all reasonable contributors too, especially Bartley as Elsa, the most coherent and sympathetic of the lot.
The rarity of cinema delving into Caribbean life ensures that The Harder They Come remains a mostly unrefined but never less than fascinating document of time and place despite its shortcomings; it's still an excellent reminder too of Cliff’s music which would capture the attention of a much wider audience not long after the film’s release.
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Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
While this is a shoddy quality film, I still love it to pieces... it's the first major film from Jamaica, and it captures much of the essence of that small island nation. They are hard to understand, that's for sure!
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Janet, it's only just been released on DVD. When it was originally released in cinemas in the 70s it met with huge success, particularly in Jamaica (of course) and the UK. It's a great, nasty, low budget film that's well worth checking out if you have the opportunity.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
It really keeps its sharp edges and captures the essence of locations. certainly a consistent mood and tone throughout.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
JD - I love the camp in the movie, too. "You always dreamin' about milk and honey in da sky!"
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Pat
Books Are For Losers