-Ship: A Visual Poem Review
Writer/director Terrance Daye is no stranger to making films about exploring the black male identity. Drawing inspiration from his own life, -Ship: A Visual Poem, is about a young black boy that learns contradicting lessons of manhood and masculinity on the day of his cousin’s funeral. Daye’s film is visually striking with a beautifully execute message, but all the while staying intimate and real. His direction is the reason for this, along with wonderful performances by the cast.
The premise of the film is to explore masculinity and manhood, with an emphasis on masculinity. Right from the beginning of the film, we see the young boy, Jeremiah, watching his father hit his brother, Junior, and berate him about what it means to be an older brother. This lesson is expected for brothers and all siblings, but the way the scene is shot, Daye quickly lets the viewer know that this is a much more hostile of a lesson than it needs to be. There are other scenes similar to this, where Daye and cinematographer Kristin Kouke use lighting and the camera movement to convey the emotion of the scene. The room is dark and there is a single lamp that is a faded, yellow-orange hue. This, along with the speed and angles of the camera, create an eerie aura. Before you even hear the yelling or see the violence, Daye already establishes a violent domestic environment.
In the scenes surrounding the wake and the children going to visit their aunt’s house, the color grading continues to establish the mood of the environment. We don’t get to see how it is outside, but we see a pale sunlight that shines through the windows. Her house is dark and silent, and there are no flashy colors around at all. The camerawork, when showing the characters, is focused on close-ups of the characters. You can see the pain on the aunt’s face, when her hands tremble as she holds Jeremiah’s face, and even her shaking eyes when she’s talking to her brother about the death of her son. At the wake, as expected, the darkness continues.
Where this film truly shines is how Daye conveys his message with just a camera, editing, and the performances of the actors. The film is truly a visual poem because Daye doesn’t use dialogue to push his message. Through quick cuts, an angry father and a blood-stained closet wall, Daye allows the viewer to put together what happened to the cousin. What’s truly incredible, is when Jeremiah’s brother finds out what their cousin was hiding, and how he was hiding his homosexuality from his family. Although they’re young, Jeremiah and his brother know already that it’s not what is expected from them. They’re supposed to be strong, hetero men, and we see that their father tries to instill these values in them. None of this is ever spoken, and that’s truly a testament to masterful directing.
It wasn’t just Daye’s work, however. The actors of this film, young and old, are great. With short films, actors’ performances are sometimes difficult to judge, especially when not given much dialogue. Some of the cast is experienced, like the aunt, played by Simbi Kali (A Thin Line Between Love and Hate) and the father, played by Jaime Lincoln Smith (Blue Bloods). The young boys, Jeremiah (Antonio Watson) and his brother (Cheikh M'Baye) are not as experienced, but still play their roles wonderfully. Experience for this film is not much of a factor because the story is not too far from a young black child’s life, and all they’re asked is to play their role honestly. They did that, and everyone in the cast did so as well.
-Ship: A Visual Poem has already seen deserved success. The film won the 2020 Sundance Jury Award for US Narrative Fiction and should see continued success. This film is more than just art. It leaves you thinking about how we view masculinity and manhood. How children’s mental health should be viewed and cared for. Terrance Daye’s experiences and this beautiful film can continue to push these discussions.
