‘Alma’s Rainbow’ Film Review: Three Decades Later, Ayoka Chenzira’s Debut Retains Its Power
29.07.2022 - 11:27
/ thewrap.com
th century, Ayoka Chenzira is not as well-known as she should be, nor has she made as many films as her talent warrants. But the ones she’s made remain impactful.
Her short “Hair Piece: A Film for Nappyheaded People” is celebrated as a first from a Black woman animator, and its focus on Black hair remains as timely as ever. And now “Alma’s Rainbow,” her 1994 feature-film debut centered on Black womanhood, returns to US theaters in a new 4K restoration.Written, directed and produced by Chenzira — who has gone on to guide a new generation of filmmakers and new-media creators at Spelman for more than 20 years — “Alma’s Rainbow” captures the dynamic between mother and daughter during a pivotal turning point in the younger woman’s life.
Like Leslie Harris’s debut feature, 1992’ “Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.,” “Alma’s Rainbow” is one of few features of the era focusing on young Black women. In “Alma’s Rainbow,” Chenzira presents a broad spectrum of Black womanhood.
Alma (Kim Weston-Moran) owns a beauty salon — the ultimate sanctuary for Black women — and strives to provide stability and respectability for her teenage daughter Rainbow (Victoria Gabrielle Platt). That is disrupted when Alma’s sister Ruby (Mizan Nunes Kirby) returns to their Brooklyn home after years of living in Paris.Alma has worked hard to become a strong, independent woman; Ruby, on the other hand, sees nothing wrong with using her feminine charms to get some of the finer things in life.
But Ruby is not totally dependent on men — she is also an artist who, unlike Alma, never abandoned her gifts regardless of how hard it got. Rainbow, a dancer, finds herself drawn to Ruby’s: It’s the artistic side of Ruby to which Rainbow, who is a dancer, is so strongly
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