Drylongso

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Drylongso

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1h 26m

Drama

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11 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

A lost treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith's Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/ romance. Alarmed by the rate at which the young Black men around her are dying--indeed, "becoming extinct," as she sees it--brash Oakland art student Pica (Toby Smith) attempts to preserve their existence in Polaroid snapshots, along the way forging a friendship with a woman in an abusive relationship (April Barnett), experiencing love and loss, and being drawn into the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing the city. Capturing the vibrant community spirit of Oakland in the nineties, Smith crafts both a rare cinematic celebration of Black female creativity and a moving elegy for a generation of lost African American men.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

The charm and distinction of Drylongso lies in its resistance to genre: it isn’t exactly a social-realist drama, nor precisely a thriller, nor specifically a romance.

Rated: 4/5

May 6, 2024

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Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

Cauleen Smith’s overlooked DIY classic from 1998 is a potent examination of the power of art and love in the midst of social upheaval.

Aug 30, 2023

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Melissa Anderson

4Columns

Low-key yet capacious, Drylongso is an affectionate art-school razz; a study of female friendship; a reflection on gender, race, & violence; a murder mystery; and a portrait of Oakland. Among its many pleasures, it reveals the unexpected in the everyday.

Mar 17, 2023

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

This isn’t a film just about death, rather it is about how Pica and her friend Tobi find the strength to thrive personally and artistically in a hostile world.

Feb 13, 2024

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

...its variably professional actors make for some awkward moments. But as a sort of mosaic, loosely narrative-driven but digressive and observant, it feels like an invaluable, hand-sculpted take on a particular time and place...

Sep 19, 2023

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

An offering from the heart.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 26, 2023

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Cauleen Smith

Director

Toby Smith

Pica Sullivan

April Barnett

Tobi

Will Power

Malik

Channel Schafer

Gloria Sullivan

Salim Akil

Mr. Yamada

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Synopsis

A lost treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith's Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly handmade buddy movie/murder mystery/ romance. Alarmed by the rate at which the young Black men around her are dying--indeed, "becoming extinct," as she sees it--brash Oakland art student Pica (Toby Smith) attempts to preserve their existence in Polaroid snapshots, along the way forging a friendship with a woman in an abusive relationship (April Barnett), experiencing love and loss, and being drawn into the search for a serial killer who is terrorizing the city. Capturing the vibrant community spirit of Oakland in the nineties, Smith crafts both a rare cinematic celebration of Black female creativity and a moving elegy for a generation of lost African American men.

Director: Cauleen Smith
Producer: Cauleen Smith
Screenwriter: Cauleen Smith, Salim Akil
Distributor: The Asylum
Production Co: Nation Sack Filmworks Production
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 29, 1998, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 17, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $15.7K
Runtime: 1h 26m
Sound Mix: Mono

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