X
- 2023
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 57 m
- 2023
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 57 m
Summary Unapologetic and free-spirited Inez (Teyana Taylor) kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.
Directed By: A.V. Rockwell
Written By: A.V. Rockwell
- 2023
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 57 m
- 2023
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 57 m
A Thousand and One
6.3
Where to Watch
Summary Unapologetic and free-spirited Inez (Teyana Taylor) kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.
Directed By: A.V. Rockwell
Written By: A.V. Rockwell
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
81
90% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
10% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
81
90% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
10% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It is tempting to call A Thousand and One a love letter of sorts, but a more accurate read might be one of heartbreak. There is love here, certainly, but more than that there is frustration, anger and sadness at the way the world refuses to help those trying hardest to endure within it.
The film is utterly absorbing, anchored by the unpredictable performance of Taylor, playing a hopelessly complicated, but deeply caring woman.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 40 User Ratings
6.3
63% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
18% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
20% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 40 User Ratings
6.3
63% Positive
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
18% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
20% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
Num ano em que tivemos produções como "Earth mama" para retratar não apenas mãe solo, mas uma questão nova até então para mim como adoção aberta (onde você conhece os pais adotivos da criança), este "A thousand and one" vem com uma proposta similar, dessa vez a mãe sequestra o próprio filho do hospital na primeira oportunidade que tem, passando a viver clandestinamente com ele.
Filme vencedor do prêmio do júri do Festival de Sundance de 2023, esta incursão no mundo de famílias pretas desestruturadas tinha que ter por trás uma diretora preta, para dar conta de toda sensibilidade. Note que a rede de serviço público (serviço social, escola, polícia) é engolida pela rede de apoio real, a formada por amigos, vizinhos e até amantes, quando não são branco, claro.
Embora algumas cenas tenham soado acima do tom, é um filme visceral, real, que não faz concessões. Mas de longe de apresentar um calvário desesperançoso como fizera "Earth mama", há aqui pontas de momentos singelos, belos, simples. As entregas dos garotos em cada uma de suas fases (da infância à adolescência), mas principalmente, a entrega de Teyana Taylor como uma mãe que faz tudo pelo filho, sem dúvidas é a alma do filme. Se não fosse o trabalho absurdo da Mia Goth em "Pearl", que estreou no Brasil somente em 2023, teria escolhido a Teyana como melhor performance feminina do ano.
O filme vai se dividindo em partes, vemos também um cuidadoso trabalho de transformação dos personagens e da casa em si,cuja direção de arte, com pouco, fez do espaço cênico algo grandioso. E ali que o passado retoma, afinal, quando o garoto vai dar o passo para a faculdade e o seu primeiro emprego, as complicações com seus documentos serão reveladas.
Os minutos finais são simplesmente devastadores. Segredos revelados, olhar muito bem trabalhado, drama na medida certa. Sem o **** costumeiro, mas focando em juntar os pedaços de seus personagens muito bem caracterizados, "A thousand and one" apresenta ao espectador uma dor extremamente visceral da maternidade, e uma relação com o filho que certamente ficará marcada na memória por muito tempo. Lindo demais.
Report
The film brims with authenticity and the electrifying emotional intensity of the best melodramas.
It doesn’t nail everything it set out to accomplish, but A Thousand and One is a breathtaking character study of perseverance in Black motherhood.
Teyana Taylor holds her head high through it all. Even as the film falters narratively, she’s a force of nature embodying a person more than just playing a role. She captures the soul of a woman who knows her son needs her to navigate this dangerous world. And that she needs him too.
Rockwell respects her audience enough to trust that we’ll be invested in Inez and Terry’s odyssey because of the nuanced performances.
It’s a cousin to other superficially gritty but essentially cloying movies about the traumas of urban striving, such as “Precious” or “Moonlight.”
Hey, Streamers! The Grand Jury Prize winner at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival recently opened in theaters. It is called A Thousand and One and stars Teyana Taylor as Inez, a determined mother who kidnaps her son, Terry, from the foster care system in New York. Inez moves Terry with her to Harlem, changes his name, and sets up a life avoiding trouble except for the changes of New York City in the 1990s. Inez and Terry rebuild their relationship and attempt to live a quiet life in order to avoid getting caught. Mother and son hijinks ensue.
A Thousand and One was written and directed by A. V. Rockwell. Rockwell has a really strong point of view as it juggles themes like motherhood, family, and even gentrification. It is a remarkable feature film debut from Rockwell, and I understand why it won the Grand Jury Prize. The plot could easily be a relegated to a TV movie, but it is elevated above that by the work of Rockwell. Additionally, Teyana Taylor's performance is powerful and supported by the really great script. In fact, Taylor has a role that feels tailor-made for her. She is very good at projecting the fierce loyalty and protectiveness of her character, Inez. She has surprisingly emotional scenes especially with the young actors that play Terry. Taylor is incredibly compelling throughout.
I guess the only pitfall of the movie is that plot machinations tend to get in the way of the compelling character drama, which veer more into that TV movie territory. At a certain point, things start to occur that feel inevitable but not necessarily organic to the story. Nevertheless, it always remains engaging and emotional.
As a side note: Teyana Taylor and Josiah Cross, who plays Terry at 17, could be the same age. That felt weird to me.
Ultimately, A Thousand and One is an impactful and emotionally engaging movie. It has a strong central performance by Teyana Taylor. A. V. Rockwell has done a great job writing and directing this movie. I can't say it's a must-see on the big screen, but if it is in your area, you should definitely check it out at a matinee with a bowl of popcorn.
Report
'A Thousand and One' is a social drama that portrays the evolution of a low-income black family as well as the Harlem neighborhood they inhabit. Through the personal difficulties faced by its characters, director A.V. Rockwell constructs a commentary on gentrification and the supposed "progress" that New York offered during the turn of the century. The social tragedy portrayed here shows how the city mayors of those times failed the poorest citizens. Teyana Taylor, of course, is the film's star; her fierce interpretation makes you question what you would do in the face of the moral dilemmas the protagonist faces. While the narrative doesn't reach the level of something like 'Moonlight,' 'A Thousand and One' brings you closer to the pain and frustration of those who are constantly in danger of losing everything.
Report
It’s been said that a mother’s love for her child runs so deep that she’ll do virtually anything to protect her young. But is it possible to carry things too far? That’s a question raised in writer-director A.V. Rockwell’s debut feature about a mother with a criminal record (Teyana Taylor) who kidnaps her young son (Aaron Kingsley Adetola) out of foster care upon her release from prison. She questions the adequacy of the care he is receiving as a ward of the state, and so she snatches him from his foster caretaker and hides him away as she seeks to get her life together. Over the next 11 years (1994-2005), she largely succeeds at this, too, even in the midst of many challenges, including an often-uneven relationship with her former partner in crime (literally) (Will Catlett) and a rapidly changing New York, especially in her home neighborhood of Harlem. Despite a somewhat slow and unfocused start, the story deepens as this unlikely new family seeks to get on its feet. However, the somewhat-disjointed opening act sets the tone for the overall narrative, which gets away from its basic premise and starts meandering in engaging but largely unrelated territory, an issue that hampers the focus of this story until near the end. These shortcomings are defrayed to a degree by its fine performances, most notably Taylor and the gifted actors playing her son at ages 13 and 17 (Aven Courtney and Josiah Cross, respectively), but these portrayals aren’t quite enough to overcome the inherent drawbacks in the direction of the script. With that said, though, the filmmaker nevertheless shows promise in telling moving tales, so here’s hoping this start lead to better efforts in her future endeavors.
Report
“A Thousand and One” is the feature debut for Writer/Director A.V. Rockwell. It’s a powerful story **** opening scene reveals Inez (actor Teyana Taylor, perhaps better known as a singer, dancer and choreographer) at Rikers Island. After her release, she reunites with her son Terry. It’s 1994. He’s six years old. She is twenty-two. Eventually, Inez decides to abduct him from a foster care system that treats him with indifference. She finds a job and begins to create a life for the two of **** texture and tone, this film has a lot of similarities to 2016 Oscar-winner “Moonlight.” We see Inez and Terry navigate Terry’s childhood, his burgeoning adolescence in 2001 and then four years later when Terry is seventeen and beginning to make some adult choices about his future. Like “Moonlight,” this film uses three different actors for Terry, each of whom effectively conveys a quiet and perpetually wary figure, constantly fearful that the tenuous life Inez has created for them will disappear. The through lines for all this are the powerful connection between Inez and Terry, two damaged people who desperately need each other, and Inez’s profound desire to give Terry a better life than she’s had. It’s Teyana Taylor’s intense, charismatic presence on the screen that holds this project together. She is fierce, loyal, combative, intense and “spicy” (her own word). Most of all, she demands independence while simultaneously recognizing that she must rely on others when everything is falling apart. It’s a riveting character study and a powerful meditation on independence and interdependence.Perhaps because of Writer/Director Rockwell’s extensive experience creating short films, “A Thousand and One” sometimes feels like a series of stand-alone observations. While the story has a comforting, slow-moving pace, it strays occasionally from the central narrative. Born and raised in Queens, Rockwell reflects a fondness for New York City that only a native can have. While focusing on the primary characters, she also takes time to note how Harlem changes as these characters move through an eleven-year period, particularly the impact on the social fabric of Rudy Giuliani’s “stop and frisk” policy and the gentrification that took place throughout the city when Michael Bloomberg was **** me, a plot twist in Act Three threatens to undermine this entire enterprise. It’s a development with no foreshadowing made all the more regrettable because it’s completely unnecessary and because it calls into question the motivation behind much of the action in the first two-thirds of this promising film.I’m excited to see what A.V. Rockwell does next. Her storytelling and her assured visual style promise great things. Hopefully, “A Thousand And One” will convince her that she has powerful stories to tell, stories that don’t need distracting plot twists to keep moviegoers’ full attention.
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Production Company
Sight Unseen Pictures,
Focus Features,
Hillman Grad,
Makeready
Release Date Mar 31, 2023
Duration 1 h 57 m
Rating R
Tagline Times Change. Love stays the same.
Awards
Black Reel Awards
• 1 Win & 8 Nominations
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 7 Nominations
Indiana Film Journalists Association, US
• 5 Nominations
