Slow-burn wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't repetitive - there's barely any narrative and slice of life portrayal of depressing squalor quickly grows thin. Smoking, drinking and monotonous sermons are atmospheric and naturalistic, which would be a welcome addition to some story, but there is none. Hopefully the young director will build upon this achievement and not get stuck in more of the same.
22 Reviews
Obviously First Time Effort
christopherjetset11 January 2022
Poor film quality left me not sure what was happening at several junctures. While darkness in certain films can be an effective device, I'm not sure whether that was the intent or that the lighting was just of poor quality. I actually believe this film could possibly be re-edited for a better result. The tone of the film seemed to very effectively capture a brooding, slow paced, drone on, and difficulty of life among people living at the edges of society. While I thought that to be true, I believe the script could have been altered to increase the pace. Acting was very effective and credible.
Film criticism is dead
anthonyjlangford21 June 2020
A prime example of how reviewers are completely irrelevant. People politics have become the primary focus, rather than the content and particularly quality of the film itself. How many films now have great critical responses but mediocre user ratings? Not because the public is so uninformed, but that the film, the entity they're supposed to be assessing, is of questionable quality.
This is one such film. Poorly shot, bad lighting, pointless scenes that drag on and on, with little development in story or character. One decent performance. A good location, wasted through an amateur production. Really, there's not a lot more to say about it.
The critics just saw color and the director's age and jumped to the now predictable glowing states. Perhaps they're the real bigots, that they feel they have to automatically prop some filmmakers up because of their origins. A true system without personal judgment would simply focus on the work. And that is not the case here.
This is one such film. Poorly shot, bad lighting, pointless scenes that drag on and on, with little development in story or character. One decent performance. A good location, wasted through an amateur production. Really, there's not a lot more to say about it.
The critics just saw color and the director's age and jumped to the now predictable glowing states. Perhaps they're the real bigots, that they feel they have to automatically prop some filmmakers up because of their origins. A true system without personal judgment would simply focus on the work. And that is not the case here.
Slow, Boring, and Over-hyped
dreadlocs24 November 2019
I watched this film because I'm a big fan of Wendell Pierce. I think he's an incredible actor who's talent is underutilized. Whereas Mr. Pierce's talent shone through in this film, the film itself was murky. It was slow; the film was poorly lit; the message too be conveyed, if there was a message, was absent from the film; and the writing seemed unsteady. I feel like I wasted my 78 minutes on characters who were not likeable and who were extremely detached from each other and from the film. This film was over-hyped and a waste of time, and I can't help but think that the critics raved over the film because it presented yet another set of black folks who were downtrodden, addicted to a substance, and self-pitying.
Burning Cane - A Study in Character
rsmarwa6 November 2019
Burning Cane - I have followed this movie ever since Ava DuVernay (director of When They See Us / Selma) mentioned it on her Instagram. Her company Array Now would inevitable distribute it on Netflix, who Ava has sustained a good working relationship with.
The film has been successfully screening both in the US and UK and has mostly mixed reviews. However, being a fan of independent films, I found this film to be quite intriguing. I found its characters relatable to most families today. I found its subject matter to be quite profound. Althought, at times, different decisions could have been made with the placement of the camera, it is the humble beginnings of a director who is bound to go far.
The films director, a 19 year old Phillip Youmans demonstrates his ability to tell a story without the need for flashy cars and over the top CGI.. The film is anything but that. It is a simple story at heart. Youmans also shows his ability to make a movie without the need of a major studio backing him, although this is where he is headed next.
After winning the top prize at the Tribeca film festival, many people came out with mixed feelings for the film. Many even went as far as to say the film is boring and amateurish. I however, disagree. If you're interested in how a story can be and should be told, then you'll enjoy this. If not, im sure theres a screening of some franchise film playing somewhere you can waste your money on.
Independent film, at its core is about human emotion, disasters, pain, grief, suffering, loss, happiness and love. Youmans showcases this in his film BURNING CANE.
The reason for my score is purely based on Youmans decisions for camera placement and at times, a fluctuating audio level.
A solid effort from a director who is about to become noticed.
The film has been successfully screening both in the US and UK and has mostly mixed reviews. However, being a fan of independent films, I found this film to be quite intriguing. I found its characters relatable to most families today. I found its subject matter to be quite profound. Althought, at times, different decisions could have been made with the placement of the camera, it is the humble beginnings of a director who is bound to go far.
The films director, a 19 year old Phillip Youmans demonstrates his ability to tell a story without the need for flashy cars and over the top CGI.. The film is anything but that. It is a simple story at heart. Youmans also shows his ability to make a movie without the need of a major studio backing him, although this is where he is headed next.
After winning the top prize at the Tribeca film festival, many people came out with mixed feelings for the film. Many even went as far as to say the film is boring and amateurish. I however, disagree. If you're interested in how a story can be and should be told, then you'll enjoy this. If not, im sure theres a screening of some franchise film playing somewhere you can waste your money on.
Independent film, at its core is about human emotion, disasters, pain, grief, suffering, loss, happiness and love. Youmans showcases this in his film BURNING CANE.
The reason for my score is purely based on Youmans decisions for camera placement and at times, a fluctuating audio level.
A solid effort from a director who is about to become noticed.
Style but little substance
greenheart19 November 2019
A very slow moving movie, the hand held camera shots gave it a home-made feel but this style was delivered at the expense of any substance.
With a drunk pastor, lots of drinking and smoking, you wondered just what message it was aiming to deliver.
Fortunately the Blues backing soundtrack and the gospel singing was great.
Not enough to save the movie that was in the end, just a little dull.
Great concept but very slow moving
blaxblew30 November 2019
This is definitely not the worst movie I have ever seen! But it definitely moves very slowly with a depressing storyline that is very difficult to follow. An hour in, frankly, I'm still not very sure of the storyline itself. Honestly, I had to refer to online reviews to understand it other than the fact that it revolves around lost, broken black men and religion. In fact, the storyline is so poorly drawn compounded with the way the camera often pans in and out, one initially believes there may be sexual abuse of Jeremiah by his father given the heavy use of alcohol in some of the scenes. Thankfully I guess that's not the case. The cinematography really threw me because some of the scenes are so dark that I literally cannot make out what's happening. At other times, the outdoor scenes are really beautiful and well done. The characters are quite one-dimensional which is also unfortunate. Jeremiah is something of a prop because we really don't know anything about him. The father is also largely just a shadowy drunk. Toward the end, we get rushed information about him through a single narrative/conversation but it would have been nice to have found out more about his life progressively throughout the film. We don't really understand how he came to be a drunk. Obviously, he wasn't born a drunk. Did he ever work? Did he ever leave this area and come back? Was he ever NOT depressed? He nearly becomes a ghost before we know anything about how he actually lived. Same with the stereotypical Pastor. By now, I think we've seen enough films from scarred black people who have been to churches with fallen pastors. Not every Pastor in the black church is shady though. Just want to put that out there. Anyway, the film could have been clearer but for a 19 year old, I'm going to give him some leeway.
Darling of Tribeca Film Festival, but....
AugustBudWeiser26 April 2019
...it's dark (did the DP leave his thumb over the iPhone camera?), somewhat incomprehensible, rather boring and obviously a freshman effort.
The actors' performances are very strong, but the film literally lulled me to sleep.
The gushing over the young director (okay, he made the film in high school, rah, rah, rah) and existence of 20+ Marvel Cinematic Universe "films" may indicate the end of civilization is near.
Suppose it was time for "Beasts of the Southern Wild 2," because this is it. That film was much more interesting.
The actors' performances are very strong, but the film literally lulled me to sleep.
The gushing over the young director (okay, he made the film in high school, rah, rah, rah) and existence of 20+ Marvel Cinematic Universe "films" may indicate the end of civilization is near.
Suppose it was time for "Beasts of the Southern Wild 2," because this is it. That film was much more interesting.
Rare 24 Karat Gold
kmask200215 November 2019
Good art gets your attention. Great art demands that you return to visit, view. Genius art requires that you revisit and discuss, perhaps try a hand at interpretation, stroke your chin, tap your temple, reaarange your thinking...
This is "Burning Cane:" Genius art. On all levels of acting, writing, riff performances, lighting, camera angles, intensity, tenderness, warmth, charm, anger and vividly displayed humanism, this collective of artists invites you, commands you to think and to question.
In 1907 Picasso did a piece of art, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, now at the Museum of Modern Art which broke all rules of engagement and turned the world upside down. Karen-kaia Livers Wendell Pierce et al do this in 2019. Mark your calendar for generations to come. Ken Mask
This is "Burning Cane:" Genius art. On all levels of acting, writing, riff performances, lighting, camera angles, intensity, tenderness, warmth, charm, anger and vividly displayed humanism, this collective of artists invites you, commands you to think and to question.
In 1907 Picasso did a piece of art, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, now at the Museum of Modern Art which broke all rules of engagement and turned the world upside down. Karen-kaia Livers Wendell Pierce et al do this in 2019. Mark your calendar for generations to come. Ken Mask
Lyrical search for salvation with not-always holy rural Louisianans.
JohnDeSando6 May 2020
"You will never be truly happy and fulfilled if you try to hang on to possessions." Reverend Tillman (Wendell Pierce)
You can almost smell the cane burning in Phillip Youmans' Burning Cane on Netflix. Such is the synesthetic cinematic experience that every word and every image carry weight on the sense and sensibility not ordinarily given to short films. While we can easily rely on the meaning of the pastor's familiar intonation, the demanding drama will depict lives looking for meaning not in possessions.
The isolation characters feel and their lack of trust in God and each other form the dramatic foundation of this still beautiful and memorable film as homily. This brooding tone poem briefly lets you into the personal lives of deeply spiritual and flawed folks in the cane fields of rural Louisiana.
Tillman struggles with the depression of being a recent widower, and the demon bottle helps little. Just the same with Daniel (Dominique McClellan), only he's a job widower, who listens little to mother Helen (Karen Kaia Livers), who listens to the Lord through the Bible. He is indeed her Shepard.
Not always bound to the dreamy world of worship, Helen reminds Daniel that his father died of AIDS. Besides the poetic qualities of this drama is the reality of life in general and rural poverty in particular. Youmans' camera lingers in the passageways and corners to let you live with these complicated characters, never imposing anything more that deeply-felt emotion sometimes embodied in gospel tunes or in simple dialogue that says much more than it is.
Writer, director, cinematographer, and editor Philip Youmans won Best Narrative feature at the Tribeca Film Festival 2019 as well as Best Cinematography. Pierce won best actor. In other words, this well-pedigreed first feature from Youmans is worth your 77 min, for it embraces small lives with feeling. An enjoyable emotional experience.
BTW, Youmans was 19 when he launched this gem, a senior in high school.
You can almost smell the cane burning in Phillip Youmans' Burning Cane on Netflix. Such is the synesthetic cinematic experience that every word and every image carry weight on the sense and sensibility not ordinarily given to short films. While we can easily rely on the meaning of the pastor's familiar intonation, the demanding drama will depict lives looking for meaning not in possessions.
The isolation characters feel and their lack of trust in God and each other form the dramatic foundation of this still beautiful and memorable film as homily. This brooding tone poem briefly lets you into the personal lives of deeply spiritual and flawed folks in the cane fields of rural Louisiana.
Tillman struggles with the depression of being a recent widower, and the demon bottle helps little. Just the same with Daniel (Dominique McClellan), only he's a job widower, who listens little to mother Helen (Karen Kaia Livers), who listens to the Lord through the Bible. He is indeed her Shepard.
Not always bound to the dreamy world of worship, Helen reminds Daniel that his father died of AIDS. Besides the poetic qualities of this drama is the reality of life in general and rural poverty in particular. Youmans' camera lingers in the passageways and corners to let you live with these complicated characters, never imposing anything more that deeply-felt emotion sometimes embodied in gospel tunes or in simple dialogue that says much more than it is.
Writer, director, cinematographer, and editor Philip Youmans won Best Narrative feature at the Tribeca Film Festival 2019 as well as Best Cinematography. Pierce won best actor. In other words, this well-pedigreed first feature from Youmans is worth your 77 min, for it embraces small lives with feeling. An enjoyable emotional experience.
BTW, Youmans was 19 when he launched this gem, a senior in high school.
The Worst Movie I Have Ever Seen
jjoneill-9155528 October 2019
Deeply sensitive movie
bobkeeto18 November 2019
So so boring
samarhana11 April 2020
This movie manages to be poorly shot, gimmicky and beyond boring at the same time. None of its characters are in any way compelling - the alcoholic preacher character has been done (much better) before. In the end you end up not caring about any of the characters in any way.
Religion and alcohol don't mix in neophyte's failed freshman effort
Turfseer17 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Burning Cane was created by Phillip Youmans when he was 17, still in high school (he's 19 now). Shot in the style of Cinéma vérité, it's difficult to follow as the film is poorly lit with dialogue that is often difficult to hear. The film won an award at the Tribeca Film Festival and generally has some very positive reviews from the critics who have reviewed it. Youmans has even been likened to Faulkner and Terrence Malik.
The story is set in Louisiana, focusing on church-going African Americans. The main character (who begins the film with a long monologue about finding the right remedies for her dog who's afflicted with some sort of rash), is the grandmother, Helen (Karen Kaia Livers)--she faces an uphill struggle in trying to motivate her son Daniel (Dominique McClennan), who's unemployed and has taken to the bottle.
Also in the home is Daniel's son, the pre-teen Jeremiah (Braelyn Kelly), who never says a word during the 77 minute running time of the film. Daniel feeds Jeremiah milk laced with alcohol and one senses that he may have some developmental disabilities. There's also Daniel's wife who we hardly see at all and end's up a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband.
Helen's pastor, Reverend Tillman (Wendell Pierce) who also has a drinking problem, is probably the most interesting character in Youman's short opus. The Reverend plays a prominent role in the proceedings as we end up privy to some of his inspirational and captivating sermons. Youmans, however, has little luck in linking the good reverend's story up with what's happening back at Helen's homestead.
If you like "A Star is Born," you might like Burning Cane. It's a tale about sad sacks. One day perhaps the young Mr. Youmans will discover, that such characters do not make for good drama. I suppose it's supposed to be some kind of revelation that religious people also may be afflicted by addiction to the bottle. That might be okay if you're able to make your characters somewhat likable, or give them some idiosyncrecies.
Unfortunately the incredibly young Mr. Youmans is content to play up the drunkard angle-and you will undoubtedly end up leaving the theater exclaiming, "so what!" His is a film that goes nowhere, with characters that you will not care about.
In order to care, I would advise Mr. Youmans next time to create characters that like themselves-for characters with ego is the path to earning true and DESERVING accolades in the world of cinema. Unfortunately, for various reasons that I will not go into here, he has already received some specious approbation from a coterie of misguided critics.
The best course is perhaps for this young man to start from scratch with a new project, completely unrelated to the heavy handed script that so many have already hailed as the product of an up and coming wunderkind.
The story is set in Louisiana, focusing on church-going African Americans. The main character (who begins the film with a long monologue about finding the right remedies for her dog who's afflicted with some sort of rash), is the grandmother, Helen (Karen Kaia Livers)--she faces an uphill struggle in trying to motivate her son Daniel (Dominique McClennan), who's unemployed and has taken to the bottle.
Also in the home is Daniel's son, the pre-teen Jeremiah (Braelyn Kelly), who never says a word during the 77 minute running time of the film. Daniel feeds Jeremiah milk laced with alcohol and one senses that he may have some developmental disabilities. There's also Daniel's wife who we hardly see at all and end's up a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband.
Helen's pastor, Reverend Tillman (Wendell Pierce) who also has a drinking problem, is probably the most interesting character in Youman's short opus. The Reverend plays a prominent role in the proceedings as we end up privy to some of his inspirational and captivating sermons. Youmans, however, has little luck in linking the good reverend's story up with what's happening back at Helen's homestead.
If you like "A Star is Born," you might like Burning Cane. It's a tale about sad sacks. One day perhaps the young Mr. Youmans will discover, that such characters do not make for good drama. I suppose it's supposed to be some kind of revelation that religious people also may be afflicted by addiction to the bottle. That might be okay if you're able to make your characters somewhat likable, or give them some idiosyncrecies.
Unfortunately the incredibly young Mr. Youmans is content to play up the drunkard angle-and you will undoubtedly end up leaving the theater exclaiming, "so what!" His is a film that goes nowhere, with characters that you will not care about.
In order to care, I would advise Mr. Youmans next time to create characters that like themselves-for characters with ego is the path to earning true and DESERVING accolades in the world of cinema. Unfortunately, for various reasons that I will not go into here, he has already received some specious approbation from a coterie of misguided critics.
The best course is perhaps for this young man to start from scratch with a new project, completely unrelated to the heavy handed script that so many have already hailed as the product of an up and coming wunderkind.
Great movie!
trinagray-4835127 November 2019
Great movie! It was slow but it did hold my attention. This movie is very realistic and powerful. There is the struggle between religion and coping with demons in movie, which some people deal with in this world. Kudos to the young director who put this movie together. I look forward to seeing more of his work.
A painful watch
ok_english_bt25 November 2022
Awful, 'Burning Cane' didn't do anything for me personally, and I'll explain why.
When I come to a film and I'm trying to grasp what it's all about, 3 main questions pop into my head, quite instinctively: 1) What's the 'angle' here, who's point of view is represented by the film maker and why?
2) What's the overall message of the film?
3) Why did they make this film?
I'm afraid to all 3 questions, I just drew a complete blank. Alcoholism? Abuse? Poverty? Depravity? God? Hope? Despair? I've no idea at all! Even the film making itself was desperate, long shots in poorly lit rooms, what were we even meant to be looking at? Film maker and writer Phillip Youmans, you offered us so much gloom and despair in this short chronicle of human misery, and so little hope. Even if you were trying to make a social comment on the lives of black Lousianians what was it, exactly? And how awful to show people in this desperate plight. Give us some hope, please. Even the central mother character goes off the rails by the end. A pointless film, painful to watch without anything uplifting or hopeful about it. Why did you make this film? I have no idea? Awful.
When I come to a film and I'm trying to grasp what it's all about, 3 main questions pop into my head, quite instinctively: 1) What's the 'angle' here, who's point of view is represented by the film maker and why?
2) What's the overall message of the film?
3) Why did they make this film?
I'm afraid to all 3 questions, I just drew a complete blank. Alcoholism? Abuse? Poverty? Depravity? God? Hope? Despair? I've no idea at all! Even the film making itself was desperate, long shots in poorly lit rooms, what were we even meant to be looking at? Film maker and writer Phillip Youmans, you offered us so much gloom and despair in this short chronicle of human misery, and so little hope. Even if you were trying to make a social comment on the lives of black Lousianians what was it, exactly? And how awful to show people in this desperate plight. Give us some hope, please. Even the central mother character goes off the rails by the end. A pointless film, painful to watch without anything uplifting or hopeful about it. Why did you make this film? I have no idea? Awful.
Tragic
vbertsekas26 February 2022
Breath of Fresh Air
dyanceyjr8 November 2019
Original & Ravishing
ippypatterson27 December 2019
A Stand Alone and Essential American film. As if printed on dark velvet at twilight. Not a single white person here. Gorgeous black skin, low country fields, wooden frame houses, distant insects. The camera with its sensitive eye, subjective, loving, at times careening through an interior or tracing a body from below. The audience doesn't so much follow as absorb content, a beautiful stain. Sugarcane and its bitter historical/cultural repercussions. Every performance is brilliant. Answers to my narrative questions are personal and may be wrong, but I was grateful to the young filmmaker for keeping anything from being obvious. Bravo, Philip Youmans and team.
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