Movie Review: From The Ashes…The Storyteller
By Peggy Lee
Kennedy
From The Ashes…The
Storyteller, winner of the Hollywood Underground Film Festival, was shown
December 13-19 at Santa Monica’s Laemmle Theatre.
The movie is a collection of narratives and
dramatic reenactment featuring Ron Taylor as “the Storyteller,”
directed by Christine Schanes, and filmed and edited by legendary
cinematographer Baird Bryant. Ron Taylor and Christine Schanes belong to
Children Helping Poor and Homeless People, which provides weekly meals in
Venice.
Although From The Ashes is
categorized as a documentary, it more closely resembles an artistic performance
by Ron Taylor. The stories he tells are about famous and not so famous people in
American history, including five generations of Ron Taylor’s family.
The movie is a mixed bag of
interesting and amusing facts, like why Jesse James was buried face down in his
grave by his brother Frank and how President Abraham Lincoln was homeless. One
of these stories portrays the complete lack of understanding that politicians
have for the needs of the people…as the crowd is chanting to free a Black
man unjustly sentenced to death in the state of Texas, “Free Leotis! Free
Leotis!,” Preston Smith (the man running for Governor) responds by saying,
“Frijoles for
everyone!.”
Through his family
stories, Ron presents us with a humanized version of how sharecroppers lived,
the power and fear generated by the KKK, the sadness of how we treat our
mentally ill, the pain of alcoholism, and not being able to deal with an
unforgiving system. Even though some of the stories are somber, they remind us
that these things exist in families and that these social issues affect us
all.
Ron Taylor’s stories reveal
how history lives through family stories. The movie awakens memories of stories
we all have in our family and encourages us to not lose them. Ron Taylor bases
his stories in a theme of powerful social consciousness. He inspires us to have
a “revolution of one” that is tied to our history. I highly
recommend seeing the movie more than once in order to get the deeper message
embedded in each story.
Just in case
you missed it, you can order a copy of the movie from Labor of Love Productions,
Inc. by calling 310-280-3131.
Posted: Wed - January 1, 2003 at 08:50 PM