the eternal voices of emancipation

The musical comedy by Blitz Bazawule revisits the literary sensation published by the African-American writer Alice Walker in 1982, after “The Color Purple” by Steven Spielberg discovered in 1985. Led by an inspired and nourished filmmaker, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson makes the intimate aspirations of their characters resonate through their songs.

The Color Purple by Ghanaian Blitz Bazawule landed on French screens on January 24, a month after its release in the United States where it set records. 1909, in the South of the United States, two teenage girls perched on an immense, somewhat gaunt tree by the sea, offer a picture of carefreeness. An image to which the spectator of this new cinematographic proposition of The Color Purpleafter the homonymous one by Steven Spielberg released in 1985, should not be trusted.

Celie and her sister Nettie, inseparable, live in the memory of their deceased mother. The first has since become their father’s whipping boy who regularly abuses her. Her children, Olivia and Adam, were taken from her. Just like her sister, her only consolation and comforter, will be when her father forces her to marry “Monsieur”. At home, physical and verbal violence continues. In the absence of Nettie, exiled to Africa – continent of origins and rediscovered dignity – to escape her father, Celie comes to be with the fierce Sofia and the sparkling singer Shug Avery , Monsieur’s mistress, has new perspectives. Which gives her the strength to free herself from this masculine influence that has governed her life for years.

Double segregation

The Color Purple is formally adapted from the musical comedy of the same name, the reconstructed sets bear witness to this. However, Blitz Bazawule recalls that his vision is powerfully nourished by the famous epistolary novel by Alice Walker, inspired by his life. The musical device allows us to enter the heads of the protagonists of this fresco on the status of socially and politically oppressed African-American women. A theme that remains relevant in the United States.

Celie is a submissive woman whose bodily attitude and dazed face reflect the fear that constantly inhabits her. The rare, but broad smiles of Fantasia Barrino and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, who plays young Celie, chase away the shadows surrounding a character from whom joy has greatly fled. When they sing, the feeling of freedom that Celie tastes from time to time seems to reach its peak. Like whenhe memorable tirade of the Sofia of 1985 becomes an ode to freedom sung by the Sofia of 2023. She has just learned that Celie suggested to Harpo, her stepson, to beat her to subdue her, the indomitable Sofia. So, the latter explains to her young mother-in-law how she fought all her life to escape this patriarchy, synonymous with violence and annihilation. Only the dominating power of the white man, at least of a white woman in segregationist America, will somewhat get the better of her pugnacity and her resistance.

The dialogues and musical scenes respond perfectly and really move the story forward. The emotion is everywhere: in the crystalline voice of Fantasia Barrino, in the vocal firmness of Danielle Brooks, in the exuberance of Taraji P. Henson’s performances. In addition to this trio, the film benefits from an exceptional cast including Coleman Domingo, Corey Hawkins or Halle Bailey.

And when Blitz Bazawule refers to Africa where Nettie found peace, it is the dress and folkloric codes of his native Ghana that he seems to summon. Images of the continent then take precedence, like a dream, over images of everyday life. Enough to feed Celie’s aspirations. According to Monsieur, “ugly, black, poor and woman” are the constraints from which she should never be able to free herself.

New echo of the work of Alice Walker

Over nearly four decades, in an epic maelstrom, The Color Purple traces the initiatory journey towards the emancipation of a woman who only her faith in God and the unconditional love of her sister, from whom she has received no letters since their separation, preserves from collapse. The director put his quality as a complete artist – writer, musician and filmmaker – at the service of his feature film to compose sumptuous scenes where the richness and dynamism of the choreographies give exceptional vitality to his story. Its plot follows the thread of this new sorority, which is built around Celie and is nourished by affection and love. The 2023 version of The color purple, like the book and the musical, expands more on the romantic relationship between Celie and Shug Avery, while it was suggested in Steven Spielberg’s film. Another time, other customs.

Spielberg’s fiction revealed a young actress named Whoopi Goldberg, who will receive the Golden Globe for best actress for her interpretation of Celie. The new version of The Color Purple also pays him a heartfelt tribute. For Oprah Winfrey, who plays Sofia, this role will also be foundational. To the point of producing in 2005, on Broadway, the musical comedy adapted from thewinner of Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award in 1983. Just as she co-produced Bazawule’s work with Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones, respectively director and co-producer of the 1985 feature film.

Those who saw and loved The Color Purple by Spielberg will also like Bazawule’s version, whose accents are, certainly, more gospel. The emotions felt in key scenes in the film remain the same. Further proof of the filmmakers’ great fidelity to the fundamentals of Alice Walker’s work. The color purple, version 2023, is a spectacle to delight in.

The sheet

Gender : Doar, musical comedy
Director : Blitz Bazawule
Distribution : Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Halle Bailey, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi and Louis Gossett Jr.
Country : UNITED STATES
Duration : 2h21
Exit : January 24, 2024
Distributer : Warner Bros.

Synopsis: Separated from her sister Nettie and her children, Celie leads a difficult life, even suffering the blows of a violent husband, simply referred to as “Sir”. It is thanks to the support of the singer Shug Avery, with her overflowing sensuality, and her daughter-in-law Sofia, with her unwavering will, that Celie draws extraordinary strength. An extraordinary feminine solidarity whose bonds she forges with her “sisters” are now indestructible.