Ready to fall back in love with the power of artistic cinema? Poet, photographer, and filmmaker Raven Jackson is out here making you think, cry, laugh, and more with her new coming-of-age feature about life in Mississippi. Experimental films are making a comeback, it seems, though words like “poetic” and “lyrical” have been used to perhaps better describe All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. It’s another crowning achievement in A24’s filmography, with a thought-provoking story that remains perpetually open-ended to thrilling effect. Second-hand artistry might leave you exiting your theater feeling like a filmmaker yourself, even if your talents and hobbies lie elsewhere.
Capturing the Raw Beauty of Mississippi
Stop and think: How do we remember our lives thus far? In one coherent, linear memory? Probably not — the recollections are perpetually jumping around in our heads, thereby making All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt all the more realistic in terms of capturing the lives of two young ladies over the span of decades. It’s simultaneously dreamlike, the way Jackson’s film unfolds over its tight 92-minute duration.
The main characters are sisters Mack and Josie. Their younger selves are portrayed beautifully by Kaylee Nicole Johnson and Jayah Henry, respectively, while newcomer Charleen McClure and Moses Ingram (Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Queen’s Gambit) play the older versions — also beautifully. Their mom Evelyn is portrayed by the reliably superb Sheila Atim, who also stole the show in past impactful films like The Woman King and Bruised. And their dad Isaiah is played by Chris Chalk, who has starred in other groundbreaking projects like 12 Years a Slave and Detroit. It’s clear, then, that the casting alone will fill the seats, even if this sort of meandering storyline isn’t exactly suited for a more commercial audience.
A24
Terrence Malick’s film The Tree of Life was similarly experimental, though a central plot eventually kicked into gear and then remained relatively linear in chronology from that point forward. This type of moment never really comes in All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, and that’s A-OK. A series of little vignettes fill up the hour and a half of Jackson’s film, which jumps around from one decade to the next in Mack and Josie’s lives.
We see Josie crush on a boy, who she then gets somewhat intimate with later in life. We see her go fishing with her dad. We see their house catch fire in a horrific sight of despair. The death of an immediate family member. A friend’s wedding, where grown-up Mack couldn’t look happier as she watches on. An extra-long hug between two relatives that seems to go on for an eternity. A pregnant belly. Bathing an infant in a kitchen sink with extreme care. A laugh shared between sisters as they recall years past. A beautiful butterfly flaps its wings. Rain batters the family property. “You’re made of dirt,” Mack’s elder tells her at one point. “Go home with your dad,” she is told at another.
Related: 8 Great Movies With Non-Linear Narratives
All these moments contain little dialogue — and background music, for that matter — but they go on for minutes. Will it put the Marvel crowds to sleep? Well, maybe it’s not for everyone, but if you call yourself either a filmmaker or cinephile in general, then go check this one out. I foresee it being screened in film studies classes for generations to come.
Hints of Barry Jenkins’ Style
A24
All these quiet moments ultimately build to a third-act scene involving the sisters, which probably contains more dialogue than the entire rest of the film’s scenes combined. Mack and Josie sit out on a porch at night and evoke an utterly realistic sibling dynamic as they laugh and eye-roll at past memories of their family and community at large. I have a sister myself and can relate to the down-to-earth way these two great actresses, Charleen McClure and Moses Ingram, dish to and rag on each other with ease. It’s a rapport that’s unique to your own flesh and blood and makes for a satisfying “climax” of sorts, even if this static scene lacks in any sort of tension or dramatic suspense.
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Given the collective sum of these aforementioned moments, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt makes for a haunting and richly layered portrait of life, not just in Mississippi, but on planet Earth in general. It’s a virtually flawless ode to the wide variety of people and places that shape our existence and well-being. Sometimes, a thought-provoking effort like this gets slapped with a more adult-suited MPAA rating, but All Dirt Roads is only rated PG, and I can’t wait to show it to my baby daughter some day. Despite the kid-friendly rating, there is much beyond the performances for adults to cherish, such as the wide array of visual techniques Jackson employs with the camera, ranging from extreme closeups to shaky handheld, documentary-style shots and more.
It’s no wonder, then, that Barry Jenkins served as a producer on the film, and we see little hints of his style throughout. Even a recent acclaimed feature like Earth Mama comes to mind, thanks to the similarly artistic nature of this other A24 project. Sure, All Dirt Roads is a slow-burn, but don’t that deter you from sinking your teeth into a groundbreaking, fearless celebration of the film medium and life in general.
From A24, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is in theaters Friday, Nov. 3.
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