Band of Angels Blog Post

This has been on my mind so much that I have to say it: Band of Angels was so neutral in its' quality as a film that I can't really put any words to it. This blog isn't supposed to be a review so I'll keep it short, but I've never felt so strongly about a film that didn't really make me feel anything. I felt like I was watching Gone with the Wind for a second time over (granted, the casting of Clark Gable probably contributed to this feeling). I even thought the two movies were directed by the same person at one point.

However, there were some things that I found interesting about the film. The difference in the portrayal of African Americans in Band of Angels (usually) starkly contrasts with those seen in Gone with the Wind. Tommie Moore's character of Dollie gives off similar vibes as the stereotypes in Gone with the Wind, but I was surprised by the differences in Rau-Ru, played by Sydney Poitier.

Black characters in Gone with the Wind were portrayed as slaves who didn't mind being slaves. Mammy, for example, was entirely content with her situation, even loyal to her masters after their plantation on destroyed. Rau-Ru, on the other hand, is wise, independent, a leader, and longs for freedom, which he eventually gains.

Sydney Poitier (pictured) was the 
first black actor to win the
Academy Award for best actor.

Rau-Ru calls out Amantha Starr for wishing that she was born completely white and denying her heritage. He was militant too, he was not content to wait for freedom, but he would fight for it too. This surprised me considering the film was released in 1957 when tensions over the civil rights movement began to flare more strongly.

Rau-Ru even sits down his former master Hamish Bond at gunpoint and shuts him up when he tries to get smart. However, he lets Hamish go when he goes a spiel about how he saved Rau-Ru as a child even though he was massacring the rest of his village. Rau-Ru is written to let Hamish go out of respect or feeling indebted, which feels unsatisfying considering Hamish kept him as a slave for what would've been decades.

Despite that ending, the film shows significant progress in what directors were willing to give to black characters, and the importance of these characters. If anything, Band of Angels' most redeeming quality is being able to let the viewer compare the character of Rau-Ru to previous portrayals of black characters. Whenever Rau-Ru was on the screen, that's when I really paid the most attention.