A Patch of Blue
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Movie Reviews of A Patch of Blue
Movie Review: The "Broken Blossoms" of the 1960s
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who may not "get" my title-"Broken Blossoms" was a 1919 silent classic about a miserable poor white girl from an abusive family who finds friendship and understanding from a Chinese man amidst heavy bigotry against the Chinese.
Fast forward to 1965. Elizabeth Hartman is the white girl (whose absue is compounded with her blindness), Shelly Winters is the drunk abusive parent, and Sir Sid (Poitier that is) is the caring nonwhite man who beforends her. This film is actually based on another novel, but the similarities to "Broken Blossoms" are interesting.
It says a lot about what childhood abuse does to people. The film does a good job in explaining Miss Hartman's blindness, the roots of her insecurity around people, Sir Sid's ambivalence about his friendship with the white girl, etc. A good study in character motivation.
The scenes where Shelly Winters, her drunk pappy, an her ignorant partner in prostitution abuse Miss Hartman are heart wrenching without blood and gore and only minor profanity, which may have shocked 1960s audiences. The film also subtly shows the dirty looks that Poitner and Miss Hartman receives as he guides her to through the town.
Overall, some morals to this story could be-
1) Be kind to children.
2) Ignorant and drunken sluts should not have kids
3) Friendship and kindness can and does transcend racial and cultural barriers.
Probably shocking when it was first released, I would strongly recommend showing this to a high school social studies class and talking about it afterward (sorry, that's the teacher in me). It's a great conversation starter.
Movie Review: Beyond Categorizing
Summary: 5 Stars
I never saw "A Patch of Blue" when it came out but I knew at the time that it was about an inter-racial romance. Those topics were news back then. I finally watched it last night and I was impressed with the way it handled the delicacy of its' controversy. To be sure, the script writer gave the plot all the necessary help to be persuasive to the sceptics that came to watch. The white blind girl came from a family that defined "dysfunctional" to an extreme. The concept of the female lead being blind was not only convenient to the plot, it was great allegory. Sidney Poitier was exceptional in a role that required strength and compassion. It would take a cold heart and/or a numb brain to avoid being drawn into the compassion of the film. Yet this is not some giddy "Love Story" but, rather, a serious look at what can happen when love breaks open a vacuum. The director took a great script and amplified its' meaning in a close-up of two people from different environments who find each other. Sexuality is subdued. Indeed, its' periodic presence is in a negative perspective. We are not looking at a climax but at a beginning. By focussing just on the beginning, we are spared making judgement on whatever direction or misdirection may have followed. No doubt that was a brilliant move for its' time but it also resulted in a brilliant movie for anytime. In truth, the most impressive realization that I got from "A Patch of Blue" was how the movie's excellence allowed it to transcend the era it was created in. It didn't matter that I saw it 40 years later; it only mattered that I saw it. You should see it too.Movie Review: Beautiful, Sad Film
Summary: 5 Stars
It is February, Black History Month, which means tons of Sidney Poitier films on TMC! I love this movie. Selena is a blind girl, raised by her trashy mother and alcoholic grandfather, who lives a sequestered life in their tiny apartment. She strings beads for a kindly man who occasionally walks her to the park, where she sits under a tree until her grandfather remembers to pick her up at the end of the day. Watching her struggles is heartbreaking. She so longs to be outside that she doesn't drink anything all day so she won't be stuck having to go to the bathroom. Completely disoriented in any setting outside of her apartment, she is tethered to her tree. One evening, her grandfather leaves her in the park late into the evening while he is off drinking and she gets caught in a terrible rainstorm. Still, she persists on going to the park whenever she gets a chance. Her first day in the park, an insect falls down the back of her shirt. She screams and the strikingly handsome Sidney Poitier arrives to help her. An unlikely relationship follows. He is an educated black man doing very well for himself in the mid 1960's while she is a naive, uneducated low-class blind white girl. He keeps his ethnicity a secret, and she frets he will find out what kind of family she comes from. Even though their affection for each other is "blind," the question is: can that blindness overcome the realities of their day to day existences? This is a wonderful film, with a sweet, heartwrenching soundtrack, superb acting, and a bittersweet ending. Highly highly recommended.Movie Review: Wonderful Film with beautiful performances
Summary: 5 Stars
I happened to be working my first job as a teenager when this movie came out. I was an usher in a theater that ran A Patch of Blue. Back then, ushers actually ushered people to their seats and then we made sure our peers didn't trash the place or put their feet up on the furniture. While carrying out these duties, we watched the movies. Well, I saw A Patch of Blue 36 times while it ran at our theater, the Nora Theater in Indianapolis. I loved the movie each time I saw it. I was in awe of Sidney Poitier and sympathized with Elizabeth Hartman's character. Of course, I hated Shelley Winters, one of Hollywood's all time best actresses. And "Old Pa" was so pathetic. This movie is hardly ever run on TV. I'm not sure why that is the case because it truly is one of the best movies ever made. I once showed it to a high school film studies class, and when it started they were disappointed to see that it was in black and white. By the end of the movie, they knew what I would have told them if they hadn't gotten it: this movie, like To Kill a Mockingbird a few years before it, could only have been made in black and white. To have made either movie in color would have been a travesty.Movie Review: A Journey Of Discovery
Summary: 5 Stars
An amazing Sidney Poitier makes the most of his role as Gordon, a gentle spirit who comes to the aid of Selina (played by Elizabeth Hartman), a young blind woman who spends her days sitting in the park stringing beads onto cheap imitation pearl necklaces for a meager living.As the story develops, Gordon comes to the realization that, as much as it may feel right, he cannot be with Selina, while the blind girl continues to be drawn closer and closer to this man who has introduced her to the world outside ... one vastly different from the one-room flat she shares with her abusive mother (Shelley Winters) and her drunken grandfather.
The film intelligently deals with the prospect of not only an interracial romance but also dabbles with the subject of significant age differences between two people clearly drawn romantically to one another. There's is a romance much like ROMEO & JULIET ... two souls coming from vastly different worlds, wanting to be together, but forced apart by circumstances beyond control.
A wonderful journey of discovery for those willing to take the trip ...