Black Mother

Play trailer

3:05

Black Mother

2019

1h 17m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Filmmaker Khalik Allah becomes immersed in Jamaica's neighboring worlds of charismatic holy men and equally charismatic prostitutes.

Critics Consensus

A transfixing ode to geographic and familial roots, Black Mother pays poetic tribute to a place and culture from a brilliantly unique perspective.

Read Critics Reviews

Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

03/24/2020

This is highly sensuous filmmaking, not only in its vivid close-ups of flesh, food, and the natural world, but in the varied textures of[ Khalik] Allah's cinematography.

Go to Full Review

Justin Chang

FilmWeek (LAist)

09/28/2019

The effect of watching this movie is very emotional and sensual. It's overwhelming on both those levels.

Go to Full Review

Jessica Kiang

Variety

05/21/2019

Allah, who directed, shot, edited, and co-scored the film, avoids the literal and the linear to create a beguilingly immersive, multifaceted, vividly sensorial portrait of his mother's homeland, Jamaica.

Go to Full Review

Dan Schindel

Vague Visages

12/06/2023

Even if you do not believe in the soul, the film makes it impossible to deny the soul of a country, that which births us, grooms us, and to which we add as we live and die inside it.

Go to Full Review

Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

09/14/2021

40/100

Episode 35: Triple Frontier / Climax / Black Mother / Transit

Go to Full Review

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

12/03/2019

3.5/4

It's as if Allah's subjects are soaking up the power of being seen.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

mike c

@Mikeychoo 05/09/2020

I had hoped to learn something about Jamaica. This is not that movie. Not sure what this is. I don't recommend this.

See more

10/26/2019

This film made in jamaica struck me as a real waste of celluloid, a missed opportunity to make a film about an underrepresented community. I really wondered what the filmaker's intention was in stringing together lingering shots of the deranged, damaged, deformed, deluded. Yes, there were striking images, close ups of the very old, the insane plus the odd shot of a naked woman, a close up of a woman in labour, a teenage girl but it lacked meaning, commentary. It felt uncomfortable in a pervy voyeuristic way and I was surprised that the filmmaker is half Jamaican and chose such negative, ugly images. An unpleasant frustrating film which seemed not to fit the title Black Mother in anyway, no investigation of women's strength and struggle just shots of ageing hookers wining up and close ups of a vagina about to pop out a baby. Nastiness passing as art house?

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Khalik Allah

Director

Khalik Allah

Producer

Leah Giblin

Producer

Khalik Allah

Cinematographer

Khalik Allah

Film Editing

Shirkers

99%

80%

Shirkers

Watchlist

Honeyland

100%

86%

Honeyland

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Honeyland

The Cage Fighter

94%

43%

The Cage Fighter

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Cage Fighter

Seeking Mavis Beacon

76%

%

Seeking Mavis Beacon

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Seeking Mavis Beacon

Mija

88%

%

Mija

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Adam Sandler Wins Best Actor at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards

2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced

The 20 Most Daring Films of 2019 (So Far) You Probably Missed

Black Mother: Trailer 2

3:05

Black Mother: Trailer 1

1:21

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Filmmaker Khalik Allah becomes immersed in Jamaica's neighboring worlds of charismatic holy men and equally charismatic prostitutes.

Director: Khalik Allah
Producer: Khalik Allah, Leah Giblin
Distributor: Grasshopper Film
Production Co: Cinereach
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 8, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 17, 2019
Runtime: 1h 17m