BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS
A key masterpiece of the LA Rebellion film movement, BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS distills the social concerns and aesthetics of that trailblazing moment in African American cinema. Searching for steady work, former factory worker Charlie Banks (Nate Hardman) views his chronic unemployment as a kind of spiritual trial. But selling a few catfish cannot sustain a family of five while his wife, Andais (Kaycee Moore), works to support them with dignity. Unable to face his own failures, Charlie finds solace in an affair that threatens his marriage, his children and everything he holds dear. Named to the National Film Registry in 2013, BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS features contributions by two iconic American artists: Charles Burnett (KILLER OF SHEEP, TO SLEEP WITH ANGER), who wrote and shot the film, and Moore (DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST), whose powerful performance as Andais Banks remains a revelation. BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS showcases director Billy Woodberry's attentive eye and sensitivity to real-life issues, making for an agonizingly beautiful film which, in the words of Village Voice critic Jim Ridley, “forms, with KILLER OF SHEEP, a landmark diptych about work as the crucible of the American character — either in its abundance or its absence.” (Note adapted from Milestone Films.) DIR/PROD Billy Woodberry; SCR Charles Burnett. U.S., 1983, b&w, 85 min. NOT RATED
Film restoration by Ross Lipman with Billy Woodberry at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 2K Digital restoration by Re-Kino, Warsaw.