The Harder They Come Film Review

1. In general, what did you like and dislike about the film?

One of the things that makes this film a good film (to me at least) is the jamaican life representation. I mean, the presence of common places/buildings, enviroment, music, religion, etc. made by actual jamaicans. It's like "teleseries" from south america, where through drama they show different topics about life (and that makes you feel identified -depending of which character and plot of course-). Music is key on this film, because it showed that they could create talented and original art despite the lack of resources they had.

An aspect that I did not like was that sometimes the film feels a little too slow, and some scenes contributed nothing to the plot and felt kinda illogical (like the main character getting away from a group of policemen without getting any damage. But those are details that didn't overshadow the film.

2. Who is your favorite character from the film?

To be honest, the only character that I can like is the protagonist. He was the most developed character. I think the other roles were not that remarkable. I like that he made the tough decision of selling his most preciated value (his original song) for only 20 dollars, even though it (maybe) wasn't the best decision. His overall choices weren't good or worth but his life and context were pressuring too much, but at least he was having fun!

3. Would you recommend this film to someone, why/why not?

Mostly, yes. But I would not recommend it for the plot but for the undeniable significance the film is to Jamaica. It's like watch a part of that country told by themselves, how they see their country (that is not told by theur old settlers). I think is a movie that you can appreciate more than enjoying it haha (in terms of plot and acting). The music is pretty good so that is part of the recommendation too.

4. How does this film contribute to postcolonial identity?

Identity is such a powerful thing to us (people). So making this kind of stuff really helps to develop a way to distinguish themselves, that's why the music was such an important thing. Obviously they knew about their music but showing it to the world demonstrates that they are a country of their own. Of course that Jamaican Patoise is important too. They were rescuing a language that only they speak, as I said before, developing a way to distinguish themselves (identity).