Tag: movie-review

Remembering “Sounder” (1972)

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Over coffee yesterday morning, I started thinking about a long-ago movie that featured a dog and a family. It’s one of my all-time favorites and has stayed with me more than most. Today’s header photo, a still from that movie, shows Sounder the dog, the father (played by Paul Winfield), and the eldest child (played by Kevin Hooks).

It came to mind after I’d just finished reading a New York Times piece about “all-time best movies,” in which the writer asked readers to email him with their own favorites. As a former heavy-duty movie buff, I started thinking. The article listed some great films, but it left out the one that immediately came to me: Sounder. That 1972 film has never left my personal best list. I felt so strongly about its absence that I did something I’ve never done before—I emailed the writer, explained briefly why Sounder belongs there.

Reflecting further, I recalled the film’s extraordinary cast: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, and other fine actors. Their performances earned Oscar nominations, and the film itself did something Hollywood had rarely attempted—showing a Black family’s dignity and endurance in a powerful, touching way.

The story follows a sharecropping family in Depression-era Louisiana. Daily life is already difficult before the father is jailed for stealing food to feed his children, leaving his wife and son to carry on. What struck me then—and still does now—is the quiet strength of that family, the boy’s coming of age, and the resilience that carries them through.

And of course—Sounder, the family’s hound dog. His loyalty and presence underscore the family’s strength and make the story unforgettable. Remembering him today, I half-wish I had a hound dog of my own.

Sounder is central to the film—both literally and symbolically. Loyal and loving, he represents resilience and hope, even when he’s gravely injured early on. The story’s emotional core is tied to the boy’s bond with Sounder, and how that love helps him endure his father’s absence.

The film received four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Before then, no movie featuring an all-Black principal cast and story had ever received such high recognition. Its excellent director was Martin Ritt.

To me, Sounder belongs on every “best movies” list—as a film about survival, love, and hope. Remembering it reminds me that sometimes the quietest stories stay with us the longest.

— Diana

Film Art

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Last night, I was thumbing through some streaming offerings and stumbled across “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” The highlight of that 1954 musical was one of the greatest dance sequences ever filmed. In their real lives, six of the seven “brothers” were classically trained dancers; so were the townspeople, the men and women dancing partners. I was eager to see that movie again.

The underside of its wonderfulness is a dark story. It’s deep winter and the brothers are eager to find wives. They kidnap girls from the town and forget to kidnap a preacher. A sudden avalanche closes the pass to their remote property, preventing the townsmen from rescuing their girls.

The eldest brother is married, and his wife keeps his younger brothers and the girls separated throughout the winter. By spring, love is in the air and everybody is happy. A rescue group led by the town’s Chaplin arrives at the ranch, and finally, the Chaplin officiates over six marriages.

In its time of making, the film’s story was fun. In modern times, however, its fable is much less innocent. It’s hard to ignore the 2014 kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group. Finally, some of the girls managed to escape or became rescued, and only now some are telling their stories of years in captivity. Their stories aren’t pretty and don’t end well enough. Even today rescues again living in their village of origin are shunned, considered “Boko Haram women,” and with their children, are treated as outcasts.

Curious, I looked up Stephen Vincent Benét’s short story “The Sobbin’ Women,” published in 1937, on which “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” was based. Benét’s story is beautifully written and readable. It’s also much leaner and tougher than the movie version.

Fortunately, artistry can overcome much. In “Seven Brides….” the dance sequences are outstanding, and sheer art that lives on film. Someday, I will watch that movie again.

Dear Friends: It’s all about having the capability of leading a good life. Diana