The Inheritance

“What’s good in the movie: color, composition, documentary clips, spoken word performance. What’s not so good: one-dimensional characters. 3 cats.”

Chris says: “This looks great and the documentary elements intrigue, particularly when they overlap with the narrative ones, which for the most part do not impress. Highlighting the mundane actuality of collective living as opposed to the utopian ideal does add some heft to what is too often a collection of underdeveloped characters. 3 cats”

Michael says: “I’m going to jump on the 3 cats bandwagon for this one and say that the blending of the narrative and documentary elements worked fairly well — although I think this tactic works better in docs that introduce some narrative elements (STORIES TO TELL being the most successful that comes to mind). Where THE INHERITANCE stumbles, as both Chris and Diane have mentioned, is the narrative arc. While there are some amusing moments, and a few interesting characters, most are pretty one-dimensional, and many don’t really get to go anywhere and are really just there to represent a specific ideal.

“Interestingly shot, though, and some really nice scenes to keep the viewer entertained.”

Bob says: “A man inherits his grandmother’s house in Philadelphia. He convinces his girlfriend to move in, and she convinces him to turn it into a collective: The House of Ubuntu, which is run on consensus and where Black politics of the 1960s and 1970s, from Shirley Chisolm to Angela Davis, to the history of MOVE (it’s Philly, after all) seem to be at the center of every discussion.

“There’s a lot of breaking of the fourth wall, with people reading or reciting political thought directly to the viewer. Things… like… ‘Revolutionary art is the eternity of the world, the endless breath, the endless heartbeat. To deny it is to lie, and truth is the final reality. We are taught to deny the power and force of art, except as elitist license.’

“Along with members of MOVE (which I frankly didn’t know continues to exist) who visit the house to educate the members on the group’s history, they also get readings from poets Sonia Sanchez and Ursula Rooker.

“There’s a one-sheet from La Chinoise up on a kitchen wall in the house, and there’s clearly a connection between Godard’s Parisian revolutionaries and the collective at the House of Ubuntu. The inheritance in question is much more than a house. It’s political thought from a big piece of the last century, and the thread of idealism experienced by pretty much every generation, even if only for a while.”