MOUNTAINS – Review by Leslie Combemale
Representations of Black love in cinema are essential to film history, and that includes diverse cultural expressions across American communities. The film Mountains, Haitian-American filmmaker Monica Sorelle’s exploration of gentrification and Haitians maintaining their culture and coexisting with other cultures in Miami, is really, at its core, about Black love. As such, it is often a beautiful and moving experience.
There’s a Haitian proverb, we are told in the first moments of Mountains, that says “behind mountains are mountains”. Lead character Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) and his wife Esperance (Sheila Anozier) knows that all too well. Both work many hours a day to keep their lives together and contribute to the future of their grown son Junior (Chris Renois). Xavier, who works as a demolition worker, is watching his own neighborhood being ripped apart, house by house, as gentrification is taking over Little Haiti and old houses are being torn down.
Sorelle, who is herself a longtime Miami resident of Haitian descent, knows these subjects well, and proves she is a talent to watch with her first feature. She chooses her collaborators well. From her co-screenwriter Robert Colom to cinematographer Javier Labrador Deulofeu, who brings color and light to bear on the most nuanced moments, to production designer Helen Peña, who fills the screen with little touches that speak to the very specific cultural elements of a Haitian household, everything is about moving the story forward.
Yes, Sorellle is a filmmaker to keep an eye on, and the folks at the Indie Spirit Awards agree, giving her the 2024 Someone to Watch Award, as well as bestowing the Best Breakthrough Performance to Atibon Nazaire, who is nothing short of utterly compelling to watch. He telegraphs more emotion in his stillness and his economy of movement than most actors do with a 5-page soliloquy.
As to Black love, it is the film’s anchor and north star. As longtime couple Xavier and Esperance, Nazaire and Anozier have palpable chemistry. They navigate the considerable bullshit of trying to live a full and joyful life as immigrants by leaning on each other and always turning to each other for safe haven. It’s such a joy to watch and gives audience members such peace of mind even in the turmoil they go through, it suggests more films with couples like this would be a great idea and welcome.
4 out of 5 stars.
