The Learning Tree [1969] Gordon Parks

http://bayimg.com/JajDHaaDb The Learning Tree (1969) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064579/ Kyle Johnson ... Newt Alex Clarke ... Marcus Estelle Evans ... Sarah Dana Elcar ... Kirky Mira Waters ... Arcella Joel Fluellen ... Uncle Rob Malcolm Atterbury ... Silas Newhall Richard Ward ... Booker Savage Russell Thorson ... Judge Cavanaugh Peggy Rea ... Miss McClintock Carol Lamond ... Big Mabel Kevin Hagen ... Doc Tim Cravens Jimmy Rushing ... Chappie Logan (as James Rushing) Dub Taylor ... Spikey Felix Nelson ... Jack Winger Numerous pieces of art have come out of the struggle for African American civil rights, and they can be grouped broadly into two categories: those that assert a separate identity for the African race, and those that try to show a common humanity between black and whites. The Learning Tree sits strongly in the latter camp as a coming-of-age tale of a young black boy in Kansas of the 1920s. It's the first film from Gordon Parks (who would go on to fame with Shaft), and, more significantly, the first Hollywood studio film directed by an African American. Released during the racial tensions of the late 1960s, The Learning Tree is a landmark of African American (and, consequently American) cinema. Though I'm grateful to the Warner Archive Collection for making this film available to a wider audience, I can't help but feel it deserves a stronger edition than this one. Newt is a teenager who spends his free time bumming around with his friend Marcus. Though Newt is a levelheaded kid with no time for hate, Marcus is a firecracker who can't leave well enough alone. Things come to a head when Newt accidently witnesses Marcus' father committing a murder. His struggle with the decision about whether to testify or not could break his friendship and tear his small town apart. This is a film that doesn't sugarcoat racism, but it also doesn't show it as the lone defining characteristic of its characters. The fact of Gordon Parks as writer/director/composer/producer is also striking, and almost certainly contributed to the Library of Congress choosing The Learning Tree for preservation in the National Film Archive. All that would be immaterial, if The Learning Tree wasn't a good film. Luckily, Gordon Parks steps behind the camera and immediately hits one out of the park. From the film's opening with a portentous tornado (symbolizing the storm about enter young Newt's life) to the final moments of violence that Newt is powerless to change, the film is beautifully done. This is a coming-of-age story that plays as an honest look at what it means to grow up and assume the responsibilities of adulthood (which always seems to come too early). It's absolutely in the tradition of other works like To Kill a Mockingbird or Where the Red Fern Grows in depicting the kinds of loss that shape us as human beings. The Learning Tree, though, is not quite universal. In fact, one of the things that make it interesting is the fact that it is located in a particular time and place in the past, both for us now and for those first viewers in 1969. The film also depicts a particular kind of growing up that is likely to resonate with rural viewers. Early scenes that included Newt and his friends stealing apples definitely put me in mind of my childhood (though in my case it was oranges, not apples), and this kind of activity is particular to a certain region. Whether some viewers identify with Newt or not based on geography, the film is resolute in asserting his humanity and the importance of his growing up. The Learning Tree is a bit of a period piece, and may not appeal to viewers looking for action-packed cinematic thrills. It's also sad that the film isn't being resurrected with the grand release its historical place deserves. Sadly Parks has passed on, but there must be some material somewhere that would provide context, not to mention interview opportunities with the cast and crew. However, in the choice between having this edition or nothing at all, this release is the obvious choice. The Learning Tree belongs in the upper tier of coming-of-age tales. With a strong, well acted story and compelling characters, the film deserves a larger audience. Although this Warner Archive disc isn't brimming with extras, hopefully the film's availability will lead it to the audience it deserves. The first crop of films inducted into the National Film Registry are all well-known heavy-hitters: Citizen Kane. Casablanca. The Wizard of Oz. Gone with the Wind. But among the first twenty-five is a truly surprising entry – a small, largely unknown 1969 melodrama called The Learning Tree. It's a film with a backstory that makes it, in many ways, just as groundbreaking as its fellow inductees. By adapting his own memoir for the screen, Gordon Parks became the first African-American director of a major Hollywood studio production. (It is important to note the "Hollywood studio production" aspect of that banner, as there were earlier independent films – as far back as Oscar Micheaux's 1920 film Within Our Gates.) The totality of that cannot be underestimated. The Learning Tree looks at the life of two young black men in the Midwest during the 1920s, a responsible young man named Newt (Kyle Johnson) and a resentful young man named Marcus (Alex Clarke). They are both struggling simultaneously against a racist society and their own burgeoning adulthood, and the story unfolds through both of their perspectives and reaches heights of tension when the two cross paths. The Learning Tree should not be solely known for being the first film made by a black director. It's a tender tale of rural life, performed by characters who feel real and sincere, and manages to still be entertaining despite some superficial entertainment flaws. The truth is that nearly all the actors are amateurs, which works with the film and against it equally. Unfortunately the acting and dialogue frequently feel quite stilted, which keeps the audience at arm's-length, but the film is not devoid of emotion; the overarching story is particularly engaging, and the closeness of the material to Parks gives the film an unmistakable authenticity. While the acting and story are at times moving, perhaps the best technical aspect of the entire film is its camerawork. Before he became a film director, Parks was a well-known still photographer for Life magazine; he published photos that captured the blemishes of twentieth-century American life – segregation and poverty – and also the empowering social movements of the 1960s. Parks and cinematographer Burnett Guffey (who manned the cameras for In a Lonely Place, From Here to Eternity, and Bonnie and Clyde) present as beautiful a landscape as can be seen in any film from the time period. Parks was an amazingly productive man. Born into poverty and orphaned at 15, he never graduated high school and taught himself his artistic talents. He worked for the U.S. government during World War II and then joined Life, where he shot photos for more than 20 years. He was the author of multiple books and also poetry and music, and served as editorial director of Essence magazine in the early 1970s. After The Learning Tree, he directed Shaft and its sequel, but did not find himself behind the camera of a well-known film again. He was awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 1988 and died in 2006, and perhaps he will be most remembered for opening the door to other black filmmakers. The Learning Tree has yet to be released on DVD, which is a shame, but fortunately it's being protected for the ages in the Library of Congress. Perhaps this film will someday acquire a larger audience.

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