#KarlaTaliaPinoPiloto

[doomonfilm]

Review : Guava Island (2019)

I’ve been a long time fan of Childish Gambino (or Donald Glover as he is known when not creating musically, and as a fan, it has been wonderful to see him become more and more relevant as an artist with each passing year.  After dropping an amazing pair of albums, being the driving force behind the work of art that is Atlanta, and booking major film roles, Glover has combined with regular collaborator Hiro Murai and Amazon Prime to release his own feature film, Guava Island. 

Guava Island, once a paradise in the middle of the world where its natives harvested a unique blue silk, eventually finds itself victim of mans’ everlasting struggle with love and war.  Deni (Donald Glover), a young musician and resident of the island, dreams of throwing a musical festival in hopes of using his notoriety and skill to unite the community and bring peace to the tense island.  Deni’s girlfriend Kofi (Rihanna) longs to get off of Guava Island, and sees that Deni is talented enough to let his music take them both wherever they want to go, but her love for him keeps her on the island in support.  To make ends meet, Kofi works at a factory that harvests the blue silk, where the tyrannical Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie) runs things with an iron fist.  Red intends on working his people seven days a week, putting him in direct opposition with Deni and his festival.  In order to make sure that his workforce stays obedient and does not miss work due to Deni’s festival, Red implements his power, creating a struggle that will impact the community of Guava Island forever.

The allegory of man and his extreme natures of love and hate, and the way this tug of war impacts paradise, is a narrative one can easily relate to.  The integration of Blue and Red culture immediately allows us to understand the severity of the conflict within the story, giving us an expositional shorthand that allows the film to embellish in its softer, more visually impacting moments.  The beauty of this pacing and visual styling is much needed, as the ominous nature of the threats that Deni faces slowly grow ever more present... in fact, upon my second watch, I found the harbingers of Red’s threat more prevalent than I originally noticed.  The tangle of human drama, suspenseful doom and old school musicals gives the film a feel similar to that of Dancer in the Dark, with the setting of despair replaced by paradise.

Speaking of musical elements and tangling different ideas together, viewing Guava Island made other work by Donald Glover suddenly make much more sense, specifically the releasing of the singles This is America and Feels Like Summer.  With no apparent album release on the horizon, the singles had no apparent context to those unfamiliar with the film, which Glover (under his musical pseudonym Childish Gambino) premiered at Coachella earlier this year.  The collaboration with Hiro Murai is also a no-brainer, as his work on the standout television show Atlanta is setting a new bar both visually and in regards to storytelling.  The visual style used in Atlanta is reflected in Guava Island, with the ‘moving picture’ approach working equally well in these vastly different settings.

The animated preamble for the film is a nice touch, as it not only provides us with proper context, but it is immediately engaging, as if to prime us for the beautiful real images we will eventually see.  The storytelling is economical but uplifting, like most folk tales and bedtime stories should be.  The integration of song and dance, specifically the aforementioned Childish Gambino singles, is unique enough to the film to fit well, but signature enough for those familiar with the work outside the film.  The echoes of the Bob Marley story were definitely not lost upon me, although the political conflict was streamlined to fit the bigger allegory.  The film clocks in at just under an hour, making the pacing effective while also making sure the film does not overstay its welcome.

Donald Glover brings a joy and exuberant love to this performance that is instantly infectious, with his curiosity and dedication to his craft equalling his smile.  Rihanna plays mostly lowkey, more than likely as to not compete with Glover’s energy, but her strong foundation helps ground the drama and stakes within the narrative.  Nonso Anozie implements the ‘kill them with kindness’ aesthetic for his villainy, offsetting his imposing size and presence in a way that really brings all of the sinister to the forefront.  Letitia Wright serves as a vocal surrogate for the greater community, providing context to all outside of the world within the conflict of the main three characters.  Appearances by Betiza Bistmark Calderon, Yansel Alberto Monagas Perez, Ayensi Amilgar Jardines Delgado, Karla Talia Pino Piloto and Alain Jonathan Amat Rodriguez round things out.

When Donald Glover first announced his departure from Community to pursue his personal works, I was definitely sad to lose the quality work he was already making, but intrigued to see what his true vision was.  I honestly, however, had no clue how truly talented he was, or how broad the scope of his vision was, but I did learn an important lesson about trusting the artists you respect by watching his journey thus far.  I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Glover, as it will surely be rewarding for all of us.