Erzulie

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Film F Erzulie has some great moments and strong female leads. I especially loved the contrast that Rhett, played by Jason Kirkpatrick, brought to the female cast. The state of Louisiana, Erzulie, mermaid lore, and Voudou are also strong "characters" setting the tone and theme for this strong indie film by Christine Chen. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/10/24 Full Review Steven H This was awesome and a super quick watch! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/22/23 Full Review Logan L Really great little gem of a film! Loved it as a fan of mermaid media, but it was also very well made. Dialogue is charming and realistic and the dynamics between characters worked really well. Definitely obvious they had a tiny budget but they used it really well. Recommended for sure! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/27/23 Full Review Holly S Like most merfolk/water spirit movies, Erzulie is ultimately about resilience. The mermaid imagery starts subtly and early with a character in a scaled swimsuit and later with a small figurine on a cabin banister. However, this figurine is uniquely referenced by a character as Mami Wata, or an African water spirit, which immediately sets the expectations for the black mermaid title character (Erzulie). Two parallel merfolk/water spirit themes that Erzulie takes up are issues of controlling relationships and environmental abuse. Central questions on these themes explore justice, revenge, self-defense, and protection. All of the women characters have experienced some sort of trauma and/or oppression, and throughout the movie, they offer each other sisterhood, safety, and solidarity towards healing. Spontaneously bootstrap therapy sessions involve both water and fire elements along with spoken and written words. Wendy delivers a crucial insight to Faye, Violet, and Ari that explains the role of Erzulie to help them overcome their individual traumas/oppressions when she says, "To face our demons, we must see them. [...] To conquer our demons, we must face them." This leads to several follow-up questions throughout the rest of the show about what each of the characters really want and if manifesting their wishes crosses boundaries that should be maintained. Erzulie can certainly help remove the women's triggering elements, but may create new ones in the process. Ultimately, the question becomes: Who or what is a monster? When Faye says she rejects Wendy's "black magic" approach to revenge, there is an apparent double-meaning as "black" is both connected to African cultural and maliciously hurtful as embodied in Erzulie. Erzulie even thanks Wendy for stopping her from crossing her own boundaries and natural alignments under the corrupting influence of contaminated waters. I was not entirely satisfied with the unclear consequences for Rhett or the responsibility he holds for his henchmen's deaths and widescale environmental damage he caused. Who will ultimately take responsibility for the death of James? Miss Lafuitte's husband also makes reference to spilling his margarita while driving, which seemed like an oddly comedic approach to presenting a potential DUI. In a movie about finding resilience in taking responsibility, these were moments that left me wanting more. However, it remains a solid movie for those looking for a story about women (re-)discovering their strength and practicing self and other care. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/21/23 Full Review jndtexas Very interesting story line with solid character development. Sound was a little over cooked, but other than that, a solid film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/12/23 Full Review M.M. P The movie surely was interesting. I love to see more modern stories of ethnic Folklore. The film had a few rushed dialog moments but the special effects and overall plot were great! The mermaid was beautiful~ Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Erzulie

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