Ready to start your Oscar list for 2024?
Then put “A Thousand and One” on it immediately – maybe for every category.
It sneaked into theaters amidst gun play, superheroes and a beloved video game flick. All I can do is hope this superb film is remembered come nomination time for 2023.
The multi-talented Teyana Taylor (musician, actress and reality star from “Teyana and Iman”) stars as Inez in this film set in the 1990s. Just out of Rikers and looking for her son, Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola) Inez tries to figure out what to do with her life.
Terry is in foster care in Brooklyn, but Inez takes him away to Harlem, where she grew up.
Screenwriter/director A. V. Rockwell, who earned the Sundance Grand Jury Prize with this remarkable film, knows how people talk to each other, and understands why … and when … silence says more than dialogue.
There is uncertainty at every turn for Inez, who often is moments away from spending a night on the streets with her son, who wonders why nobody is looking for him.
With perseverance and some luck, Inez cobbles a sort of family life together for her and Terry. Also in the picture is Inez’s sometimes-boyfriend Lucky (William Catlett, “The Devil You Know”), who shows up suddenly and with some reluctance.
The story follows Terry through his older teen years. It gives us a close-up view of urban life, where everything – from funerals to weddings – is celebrated from a stoop and makeshift emotionally powerful gathering.
The movie is as complex and fascinating as Inez’s life, where illness, bad decisions, and gentrification lurk ominously at its edges.
This movie is far from a blockbuster, and there’s no doubt it will be overshadowed quickly by bigger-budget shows. See it while you can where every excellent movie deserves to be seen: In a theater.
4 stars
Rated: R for foul language and violence.
Running time: One hour and 57 minutes
At Cinemark. Davenport.
Watch the trailer here.
