David Berthy Posts



I recently watched “Killer of Sheep,” the 1977 film by Charles
Burnett. Set in South-Central Los Angeles, the movie has an
incantatory veracity that makes it feel somehow more real than
documentary even though it’s a work of fiction. By holding on
characters until their interior states are clear, the film achieves
the novelistic effect of engaging the viewer in its subjects’ inner
lives. The film’s soundtrack plays a primary role in this
achievement. Though the soundtrack is eclectic, it is always fitting,
often in surprising ways. Sometimes, it’s intentionally jarring, as
when Paul Robeson sings about America as his home over a scene of
kids in a desolate lot throwing rocks. On other occasions, there’s an
organic, playful feel, as when a little girl sings to her doll along
with Earth Wind and Fire. Most arresting, for me, was the way the
blues songs I include here are used. You’re listening to the blues
while the characters are feeling them, and the combination of image
and sound is a more evocative expression of their inner landscape
than anything that could be achieved with dialogue.

Killer of Sheep