Is The Birth of a Nation a Sundance Darling or Wide Release Flop?

                 

                The Birth of a Nations is a period biopic. It is the story of Nat Turner but like most historical melodramas the filmmakers were liberal in their use of artistic license with the narrative. This is not a failure of the film but rather the filmmaker’s choice to value theme and allegory over historical accuracy.

                Nat Turner is an outlier. He is a slave in the antebellum south that can not only read but is allowed to preach. As Nat Turner sees how his preaching helps his people stay enslaved he begins a path that will conclude in leading a slave rebellion.

                In his directorial debut Nate Parker is impressive. The film has already won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.  This led to The Birth of a Nation being purchased by Fox Searchlight for $17.5 million dollars, a Sundance Film Festival record.

                Nate Parker pulls a Woody Allen and writes, directs, and stars in The Birth of a Nation. If the title sounds familiar don’t confuse this The Birth of a Nation with D.W. Griffith’s historic but highly racist silent film. The title is no accident Nate Parker and the film’s producers purposely reappropriated the title.

                Period films are notoriously expensive. Nate Parker makes use of every bit of his relatively modest $10 million dollar budget. The battle scenes in the final third of the film are well done but one is tantalized by the notion of Nate Parker helming a historical epic with the level of budget a major Hollywood studio could provide.

                The Birth of a Nation is a complete film. It uses all aspects of the medium of motion pictures to convey a story.  

                Expert craftsmanship is on display in The Birth of a Nation. The practical sets, exterior locations, and art design are more impressive and convincing then films utilizing tens of millions of dollars in CGI.  The makeup and lighting departments do an excellent job of making the skin of the slaveholders and those participating in the slave trade pasty and unflattering helping to reflect their cruel and vile nature. 

                Too infrequently the camera itself is not used as a storytelling device in contemporary mainstream American cinema. The Birth of a Nation is not one these films. When Nat’s belief structure begins to be shaken the camera work reflects this.

                Symbolism and allegory are present throughout the film. At one point Nat is literally laid upon a wooden cross and collapses only to later rise up in defiance of his wounds and what the human body seemingly should be able to tolerate.

                The film’s melodrama is used to build archetypes as opposed to furthering plot or story like a soap opera. This Nat Turner is deemed special since birth and with his specialized knowledge he leads his people. These are key aspects of the hero’s journey. The Nat Turner story told in The Birth of a Nation is a mixture of mythology and folklore rather than a rigid historical retelling.

                It is impossible to watch The Birth of a Nation without taking into context that diversity both in front of and behind the camera continues to be an issue in American cinema. Time will tell if Nate Parker will be regarded as an important director but his directorial debut is an important film. Don’t wait for it on cable or Blu-ray The Birth of a Nation deserves to be screened theatrically as the filmmakers intended.