Heavy handed allegory gets a tick for its ambition and casting, but the momentum and pace is severely soporific with long passages of seemingly endless staring and close-ups of eyeballs where words should be present. Poitier returns to his home town to attend the funeral of his sister, but following a series of evangelical interventions in the town's struggling labour relations, many come to believe that he may be the second coming. Predictably, there are those in the redneck town who want to lynch him for impersonating Christ (potentially an opportunistic charlatan), while others hope he can reverse the disturbing trends and save lives.
Local doctor played by Will Geer initially greets Poitier with scepticism but opens his mind to the possibilities; his son played by Bradford Dillman, on the other hand is cynical of Poitier's intentions which local sheriff Ramon Bieri believes are to agitate the local black community into industrial disputation for better treatment and wages. Lincoln Kilpatrick, Richard Ward and Paul Winfield play local oppressed workers who come to trust Poitier and his unconventional wisdom.
Grainy colour tones and heavy doses of symbolism create an eerie atmosphere, but I felt the film never quite hit the mark, languishing somewhere between fantasy and melodrama. But then perhaps the low key treatment is what makes it a memorable and original little title (and one that appears now long forgotten). Low key but worth a look.
Local doctor played by Will Geer initially greets Poitier with scepticism but opens his mind to the possibilities; his son played by Bradford Dillman, on the other hand is cynical of Poitier's intentions which local sheriff Ramon Bieri believes are to agitate the local black community into industrial disputation for better treatment and wages. Lincoln Kilpatrick, Richard Ward and Paul Winfield play local oppressed workers who come to trust Poitier and his unconventional wisdom.
Grainy colour tones and heavy doses of symbolism create an eerie atmosphere, but I felt the film never quite hit the mark, languishing somewhere between fantasy and melodrama. But then perhaps the low key treatment is what makes it a memorable and original little title (and one that appears now long forgotten). Low key but worth a look.