248. The Harder They Come; movie review

 

THE HARDER THEY COME

Cert 15

103 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, drug misuse

It is hard to imagine popular music without the influences of the Caribbean and, in particular, Jamaica.

But the reason that The Harder They Come is so revered is that it was among the milestones of the reggae breakthrough.

It certainly can't be down to the quality of the film - it jolts around all over the place and its dialogue is often impossible to understand.

Nevertheless, we have to consider the time in which it was made and it gives an insight into a country which would have been previously only been seen in cinemas from a white perspective.

Perry Henzell's movie stars Jimmy Cliff as Ivan Martin, a poor country man who seeks work in Kingston.

After a couple of major setbacks, he takes a menial job with a preacher (Basil Keane) before taking an interest in his naive niece (Janet Bartley).

His true ambition is to make it big is a singer and his vehicle is his own tune - The Harder They Come.

However, despite it being an obviously catchy number, the island's record producer seeks to rip him off.

Thus, Ivan snubs his paltry offer and turns instead to crime.

The Harder They Come is certainly edgy, painting Kingston as a tough place with high unemployment even 50 years ago.

It also presents a downbeat view of the Jamaican capital's drug and gun culture.

Ultimately, Henzell is trying to say that the young see no way out - when they try a legitimate path there are too many obstacles and so are forced to risk their lives by drifting on to the wrong side of the tracks.

As said, it is sometimes clumsy and even badly edited but it has a soundtrack which offered a new genre of music to cinema audiences worldwide.

Reggae never looked back.

Reasons to watch: Ear-worm music

Reasons to avoid: Jolting and tricky to understand

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word "reggae", effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience.

The final word. Jimmy Cliff: "I was in the studio recording You Can Get It If You Really Want when the director Perry Henzell came in and asked if I could write some music for a film he was about to make. The next thing I knew, he was sending me the script and asking me to play the lead. I'd never acted before and I was doing well as a singer but I jumped at the opportunity." The Guardian

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