Banished

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Banished

2006

1h 27m

Documentary

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

In the early 20th century, three Southern communities forcibly remove African-Americans from the population.

John Leonard

New York Magazine/Vulture

[Director Marco] Williams brings with him descendants of the dispossessed interested in the bodies of their ancestors, the titles to their expropriated lands, and the scruples and excuses of towns that didn't want them.

Jan 5, 2018

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Noel Murray

AV Club

Williams isn't afraid to ask -- without providing any definitive answer -- whether black people are owed something for the legacy they were denied, and whether the grandchildren of the people who denied it should be properly held accountable.

Rated: B

Sep 28, 2007

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Melissa Anderson

Time Out

Marco Williams's latest investigation into race relations suggests, seemingly without intending to, how much the language of pop psychology has vitiated our nation's discourse on the atrocities committed on its soil.

Rated: 2/6

Sep 27, 2007

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Ken Fox

TV Guide

This crucially important documentary from filmmaker Marco Williams examines three cases in particular, and raises some difficult questions about what can be done in the present to make up for the crimes of the past.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 27, 2007

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Maria Garcia

Film Journal International

A reflective and thought-provoking documentary, guided by Williams' sensitivity to the subtle and not-so-subtle forms of racism that spurred those events.

Sep 26, 2007

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Kam Williams

Black Star News

They say The South has changed, but you wouldn't know it from this jaw-dropping shocker you have to see to be believe.

Rated: 4/4

Jun 19, 2007

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Audience Member

A stunning history told with incredible craft. The past is never dead, it isn't even past.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

The title is pretty literal here, and this documentary makes a useful companion to Elliot Jaspin's book "Buried in the Bitter Waters." The film meanders a bit for my taste, but does a good job of asking uncomfortable questions about reparations, showing the complexities of researching these histories, and shining a light on just how much racial violence in the U.S. remains willfully buried.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Audience Member

Great documentary, but not so much about how whites drove blacks out of these towns as how we should deal with that legacy today. Should we pay reparations for these specific , traceable abuses? What should these still all-white towns do today to make peace with the past?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

Catastrophe, starring dreadlocks!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

boring Could have been so much more but kind of seemed to be bored with itself to go anywhere

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Audience Member

Some surprising revelations, but not enough intimacy to sustain a feature documentary. Should have focused more on the families who are still coping with trying to earn back what is rightfully theirs.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Marco Williams

Director

Marco Williams

Producer

Stephen McCarthy

Cinematographer

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Synopsis

In the early 20th century, three Southern communities forcibly remove African-Americans from the population.

Director: Marco Williams
Producer: Marco Williams
Production Co: ITVS (Independent Television S
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 27m