The Black Sea- SXSW 2024
March 8th, 2024
MOVIE: THE BLACK SEA
STARRING: DERRICK B. HARDEN, IRMENA CHICHIKOVA
DIRECTED BY: DERRICK B. HARDEN, CRYSTAL MOSELLE
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 ½ STARS (Out of 4)
The films of Crystal Moselle are a slice of life. Something you can step into as an outsider and be grateful to walk in other people’s shoes. Her first film The Wolfpack was a documentary about six teenage boys living in New York who loved movies but never stepped outside their home. Her second film Skate Kitchen, captured a segment of New York women who loved to skateboard and the bonds of their friendship. The Black Sea is different and yet the same. This time, a man from Brooklyn named Khalid (played by co-director Derrick B. Harden) receives an invite from a woman in Bulgaria. When he gets there she has died. Soon his money, his passport, everything is stolen, and he is now stranded without a way to get back. It’s another fish-out-of-water story, about finding a place, no matter where you are, and making it your home. With honesty and grace, Moselle and Harden bring a slice of New York to The Black Sea.
Similar to Moselle’s other films, The Black Sea is not a documentary, but it is certainly a documentary. Reading the production notes, there was no script, and it is obvious because the only people who seem to be in on any idea that they are shooting a movie are the crew, Harden, and his co-star Irmena Chichikova playing the role of Ina. It begins with Khalid arriving in Bulgaria. He walks through the town and we see that he’s going to be one of the few Black men this town has ever seen. He visits the home of the woman who he was there for to learn of her passing. He wanders around, looking for a place to think, and when he falls asleep outside, his passport, money, and phone are all stolen. Now what? For a person such as Khalid, the next move is to find a way, and that’s exactly what he does.
The second half is where The Black Sea becomes this beautiful embrace of love and spirit. Khalid finds a job working at the docks for the son of the very woman who got him to go to Bulgaria. It’s something to get him on his feet. He begins to make friends with everyone and soon, Ina has Khalid work at her travel agency, where he sells matcha tea and makes sandwiches in the front seating area. Khalid has established himself, people enjoy his spirit, and he has found a home where in Brooklyn he was desperately longing for.
As far as narrative and structure, The Black Sea is loose, where the moments are unpredictable, funny, and alive. It’s Moselle’s direction and collaboration with her team that allows a movie such as this to shine. I am reminded of films such as Agnes Varda’s Daguerreotypes or Murs Murs, which become documentaries of place and people. Moselle isn’t just interested in us seeing Khalid find his place, she’s interested in seeing the people around him come alive, and become vulnerable to her camera. It genuinely has the heart of independent film and creativity in mind.
The process of The Black Sea may seem trivial or too long to most viewers, but it’s rare for movies to work when the audience can’t spend time with its subject. That’s what The Black Sea does. It has moments that feel a bit too long but it also blurs all the lines of what “narrative” filmmaking is. It places us in the center of Bulgaria, a foreign place, a mysterious land, with a person who makes art out of his circumstances. Be more like Derrick B. Harden. Watch more movies from Crystal Moselle. They are making real-life art.
THE BLACK SEA PREMIERED AT SXSW ON MARCH 9TH. CHECK BACK FOR MORE INFO WHEN RELEASED.
3 ½ STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
leo@amovieguy.com
