Fifth about The Seventh

Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

Ernest Cole: Lost and Found: Raoul Peck’s portrayal of South African photographer Ernest Cole is doubly powerful. First, Cole’s work is nothing short of amazing, filled with implicitly violent images of the Apartheid, which are nevertheless so great to look at. Second, the narration (done masterfully by LaKeith Stanfield, as the voice of Cole) is a beautiful text, enraged and sad, with longing for his home country and a sense of homelessness in the whole world he lived in. The film’s title has a double meaning: in part, how he was forgotten and is now being remembered; but also, a more objective meaning, as it deals with the way many of his negatives, believed lost, were eventually found. That’s an intriguing story, but it keeps the film away from what makes the film truly shine. Editor Alexandra Strauss makes a film mainly about photos incredibly dynamic (but, again, this comes a good deal from the quality of his work); she uses many effects to help her, and it works wonders. Composer Alexeï Aïgui contributes a rather nice jazzy score.

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