This is an African American coming-of-age movie set in small-town Kansas in the 1920s. It is based on Gordon Parks' semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. It is historically based on African Americans who migrated to Kansas from the South in the late 1870s. They were known as "Exodusters," from which Parks descended.
Newt Winger is a 14-year-old boy--the youngest in a deeply religious family. His mother, Sarah, is the moral force in the film that keeps Newt on the straight and narrow. He also has an older brother that teaches him to box, a sister at home, and an older married sister "up north."
The film opens with a tornado in which Newt is caught outside but is saved by the town hussy, who introduces him to his sexuality. Later, on a Sunday afternoon after church, Newt and some friends, including Marcus Savage, steal apples from a white man, Jake Kiner, who catches them in the act. He goes after them with a whip, but Marcus disarms him and beats Kiner brutally. At his mother's prompting, Newt agrees to work for Kiner for nothing to make up for his own transgression.
The racist Sheriff Kirky comes after the boys while they're swimming. He comes across a group of African American men playing craps and shoots one of them when he tries to escape. The boys help recover the body, and Newt confirms that Marcus is the one who beat Kiner. Marcus is sent to reform school and carries a deep enmity for Newt.
Newt begins a relationship with a new girl in town, Arcella Jefferson. But after she is raped by the son of Judge Cavanaugh and becomes pregnant, the Jeffersons quietly leave town. Newt also has a conflict with a teacher who insists African Americans should not be in the college prep stream at school because they will only get menial jobs in life anyway. The school principal is sympathetic to Newt but says that segregation goes too far back to overcome.
After Marcus gets out of reform school, he begins to work as a janitor in a house of prostitution. He has a difficult relationship with his father, Booker. During a fall fair, Newt beats Marcus in a boxing match because of the skills he had learned from his brother. This only increases Marcus's anger.
Newt then witnesses the murder of his boss, Jake Kiner. A former employee, Silas, is accused of the murder because he was found unconscious on the ground with Kiner with a crowbar between them. However, Newt knows that Booker Savage killed Kiner while trying to steal liquor from him. When it seems clear that the innocent Silas will be convicted, Newt tells the judge what he saw. Newt testifies that Booker is the murderer. Booker grabs the Sheriff's gun, runs from the courtroom, and commits suicide.
This leads to a final confrontation between Marcus and Newt.
"The Learning Tree" is quite effective despite some stiff dialogue and acting at times. The white "liberals" in the community are sympathetic but unwilling to push change. The African Americans respond to the deeply-rooted racism in a variety of ways. In that sense, there is nuance.
Newt Winger is a 14-year-old boy--the youngest in a deeply religious family. His mother, Sarah, is the moral force in the film that keeps Newt on the straight and narrow. He also has an older brother that teaches him to box, a sister at home, and an older married sister "up north."
The film opens with a tornado in which Newt is caught outside but is saved by the town hussy, who introduces him to his sexuality. Later, on a Sunday afternoon after church, Newt and some friends, including Marcus Savage, steal apples from a white man, Jake Kiner, who catches them in the act. He goes after them with a whip, but Marcus disarms him and beats Kiner brutally. At his mother's prompting, Newt agrees to work for Kiner for nothing to make up for his own transgression.
The racist Sheriff Kirky comes after the boys while they're swimming. He comes across a group of African American men playing craps and shoots one of them when he tries to escape. The boys help recover the body, and Newt confirms that Marcus is the one who beat Kiner. Marcus is sent to reform school and carries a deep enmity for Newt.
Newt begins a relationship with a new girl in town, Arcella Jefferson. But after she is raped by the son of Judge Cavanaugh and becomes pregnant, the Jeffersons quietly leave town. Newt also has a conflict with a teacher who insists African Americans should not be in the college prep stream at school because they will only get menial jobs in life anyway. The school principal is sympathetic to Newt but says that segregation goes too far back to overcome.
After Marcus gets out of reform school, he begins to work as a janitor in a house of prostitution. He has a difficult relationship with his father, Booker. During a fall fair, Newt beats Marcus in a boxing match because of the skills he had learned from his brother. This only increases Marcus's anger.
Newt then witnesses the murder of his boss, Jake Kiner. A former employee, Silas, is accused of the murder because he was found unconscious on the ground with Kiner with a crowbar between them. However, Newt knows that Booker Savage killed Kiner while trying to steal liquor from him. When it seems clear that the innocent Silas will be convicted, Newt tells the judge what he saw. Newt testifies that Booker is the murderer. Booker grabs the Sheriff's gun, runs from the courtroom, and commits suicide.
This leads to a final confrontation between Marcus and Newt.
"The Learning Tree" is quite effective despite some stiff dialogue and acting at times. The white "liberals" in the community are sympathetic but unwilling to push change. The African Americans respond to the deeply-rooted racism in a variety of ways. In that sense, there is nuance.