Slam (1998)

This was great buy.

This was and still is a great movie it's timeless. In fact the first time I seen the film was when I was a teenager and now I showing it to my soon to be teenage son.This is a great film and it show a person that there's a diffrent way of living no matter your enviorment. I would suggest you buy it and try it out for yourself.It will show you what happen when you make the wrong choices in life, and have to pay for them with thing's you do not want to do. February 28, 2008

Sham

Poetry is the apotheosis of all literary forms; clarity and emotional honesty chiseled into words with incredible discipline, worked and reworked tirelessly until they communicate with elegance and precision. The relentless clanging of A/B rhyme portrayed in Slam bears as much resemblance to poetry as female mud wrestling in Berlin nightclubs bears to ballet.

But that's part of this film's larger tragedy. Raymond Joshua, Saul Williams, seems like the highly intelligent, sensitive kid who, in a better world, could really go places. But in his milieu rap is de rigueur, so his talents are wasted there, stifled by the astonishing limitations of the idiom. (How many rhymes for MF are there?) This said, Ray seems stunningly naive for a kid who grew up in the projects, his "dream" argument with Lauren, Sonja Sohn, late in the film, reflects worldly innocence a 12-year old might envy. This "man-child" theme, worked overly hard, is in jarring juxtaposition to the gritty realism of the film's first half, a stark look inside prison life.

No one in the film technically qualifies as an actor, and it shows. (Marion Barry's legendary impersonation of a Mayor comes closest.) This glaring deficiency is most evident when a prison guard delivers the movie's only memorable moment. He is clearly untrained, but manages to summon what no one else can, conviction, authenticity, and passion. In clearly defined terms, using a mathematical formula, he explains to Ray why he's so angry. It's all about the number of young black men in his prison, and how disproportionate that number is when compared to Washington's overall demographic. He breaks it down, and then expresses his pain felt witnessing the self-destructive cycle of drugs and street crime. It is a sharp moment that neatly punctuates all the gassy, preachy speeches characterizing most of this film.

What little chance the movie had of succeeding is lost completely in the third act, a bizarre blend of goopy love story and poetry slam funfest. The poetry slam is especially poor, the poetry itself is shabby and the crowd seems to have been bussed in from another movie set. Williams and Sohn are likeable, and do well considering their obvious lack of experience. The fault here lies with the script and the director. If Levin had played his cards right, he could have made one coherent, well structured lousy movie. Instead, what he managed to do was chop together unrelated sections of three lousy movies. The subject matter is serious and certainly deserved better than this. June 3, 2007

Watch this movie

Great story line makes me fall in love with Saul Williams all over again. March 23, 2007

Slam (1998)

Great movie and extremely powerful and motivational. I am a 42 year old African American male military war veteran (single parent)with a BA in Social Science and a ThM in Theology. I have coached, taught and ministered to my people; African Americans. Only to become discouraged in the fight and caught in the same traps; sex, drugs, anger, remorse, unforgiveness, hate, regret, shame, mental pain etc. I fought so hard for others of my race not to placate to; even to the point of using drugs. But GLORY has come! This movie has given me new strenght to continue to advocate, fight and defend (help) my enslaved (physical or mental)people. I am also ordering extra copies for all individuals I am lead to help by the anointing, gifts and Spirit in me. Thank you God for this anointed message and gift; SLAM (1998). "What an encouragement." September 7, 2006

An Undeniably Important Movie for the Age

With the great resurgence of poetry jams and slams in our cities and schools, it's no wonder this wrenching movie has develped such a huge following.

Saul Williams is phenomenal here, with a Shakespearean voice and an uncanny knack for freestyle. Because of a drug deal gone bad, Ray Joshua (Williams) is thrown into the criminal justice system for possession of 1/4 ounce of marijuana. He resists his plea bargain and rejects the judicial logic of trials. He is a fundamentally good person who cares for his neighbors and resists being another slave of the system.

Sonja Sohn (of THE WIRE), his female lead, plays a former prostitute turned prison poetry workshop leader, and she is convincing indeed. She has a fabulous screen presence and her character has an iron will that seems enmeshed with Ray's.

While their eventual romance is predictable, it is also satisfying. The film's premise, simply that words have the power to redeem lives and heal deeply set wounds, has universal appeal. Those who have participated in jams and slams know this is true.

Director, Mark Levin grainy, evocative cinematography, a drop-dead hip-hop score and steady pacing I have no idea why it sells for so little. I can only assume that the mass market has become so bovine in its tastes that many are unwilling to confront life on the other side of the fence, convinced that it simply does not exist.

A superb, multiple-award-winner, thoughtfully-scripted and edited. Those poor souls sensitive to so-called "explicit" language, need not view. You will be offended for all the wrong reasons. May 31, 2006

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