1991
TV-PG
Kino International
1 h 53 m

1991
TV-PG
Kino International
1 h 53 m

Summary At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from th...

Directed By: Julie Dash

Written By: Julie Dash

1991
TV-PG
Kino International
1 h 53 m

1991
TV-PG
Kino International
1 h 53 m

Daughters of the Dust

Name: Daughters of the Dust
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Released: 1991-12-27
Duration: 1 min 53 s
Rating: 81
Cast: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbarao, Trula Hoosier, Umar Abdurrahamn

Metascore Universal Acclaim Based on 18 Critic Reviews

User Score Generally Favorable Based on 8 User Ratings

7.8

My Score

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Where to Watch

Directed By: Julie Dash

Written By: Julie Dash

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Universal Acclaim Based on 18 Critic Reviews

94% Positive
17 Reviews

6% Mixed
1 Review

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Universal Acclaim Based on 18 Critic Reviews

94% Positive
17 Reviews

6% Mixed
1 Review

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

100

Boston Globe

"Daughters" has a gorgeous, overwhelming sense of place. It is almost startlingly beautiful, blessed with deep fiery hues and a poetic sensibility. It is a film made stronger by its belief in itself, and it challenges its audience to believe also.... But because "Daughters" is so gloriously textured, its rewards are many. [20 Mar 1992, p.30]

By Patricia Smith FULL REVIEW

Village Voice

Daughters of the Dust abounds with stunning motifs and tableaux, the iconography seemingly sourced from dreams as much as from history and folklore. But however seductive and trance-inducing, the visual splendor of Dash's film is never vaporous.

By Melissa Anderson FULL REVIEW

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Daughters of the Dust is hypnotic, flowing with the trance-like rhythms of a poem that is beautifully written yet deliberately arcane. It's the cinematic equivalent of the voices you hear in the fiction of Toni Morrison or Alice Walker, but without the connecting narrative thread that most novels possess and most movies imitate. The result is a difficult work, yet a haunting one. [29 May 1992]

By Rick Groen FULL REVIEW

The New York Times

For all its harsh allusions to slavery and hardship, the film is an extended, wildly lyrical meditation on the power of African cultural iconography and the spiritual resilience of the generations of women who have been its custodians.

By Stephen Holden FULL REVIEW

Austin Chronicle

Neither slave nor mammy, junkie nor maid, these dawn-of-the-twentieth century African-American women are an unstereotypical breed unto themselves.

By Marjorie Baumgarten FULL REVIEW

Chicago Tribune

Throughout the film, cinematographer Arthur Jafa brings in lovely, imaginative photography, showing a remarkable eye for light and composition, while Dash provides crisp, sensitive direction in putting together a moving work about a simple but proud people immersed in a distinct culture and ritual as they try to "touch their own spirits."

By Clifford Terry FULL REVIEW

USA Today

Writer/director Julie Dash pours on sounds, music and costuming for a tone more impressionistic than dramatic - and more somnambulant than either. She might have gotten away with it for 80 minutes, but merciless Dust closes in on the two-hour mark, a structural shambles in the too-earnest American Playhouse tradition. [1 April 1992, p.6D]

By Mike Clark FULL REVIEW

See All 18 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 8 User Ratings

7.8

75% Positive
6 Ratings

13% Mixed
1 Rating

13% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

View All

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 8 User Ratings

7.8

75% Positive
6 Ratings

13% Mixed
1 Rating

13% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Geechee Girls, American Playhouse, WMG Film

Release Date Dec 27, 1991

Duration 1 h 53 m

Rating TV-PG

Genres

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Awards

Sundance Film Festival

• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

National Film Preservation Board, USA

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Daughters of the Dust

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Cora Lee Day

Nana Peazant

Alva Rogers

Eula Peazant

Barbarao

Yellow Mary

Trula Hoosier

Trula

Umar Abdurrahamn

Bilal Muhammad

Cheryl Lynn Bruce

Viola Peazant

Tommy Redmond Hicks

Mr. Snead

Marcus Humphrey

Boatman

Bernard Wilson

Boatman

Adisa Anderson

Eli Peazant

Eartha Robinson

Myown Peazant

Bahni Turpin

Iona Peazant

Jabario Cuthbert

Ninnyjugs

Yolanda Simmons

Teenage Girl

Ebony Hills

Teenage Girl

Sherry Jackson

Older Cousin

Cornell Royal

Daddy Mac

Tony King

Newlywed Man

Althea Lang

Newlywed Woman

Vertamae Grosvenor

Hairbraider

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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