A Thousand and One (2023)

[Jake Lipson]

Title: A Thousand and One (2023)

Tagline: Times change. Love stays the same.

Genre: Drama

Director: A.V. Rockwell

Cast: Teyana Taylor, William Catlett, Josiah Cross, Aven Courtney, Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Terri Abney, Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman, Adriane Lenox, Gavin Schlosser, Jolly Swag, Azza El, Alicia Pilgrim, Jennean Farmer, Kal-El White, Jamier Williams, Naya Desir-Johnson, Mychelle Dangerfield, John Maria Gutierrez, Artrece Johnson

Release: 2023-03-31

Runtime: 116

Plot: Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so they can build their life together.

 

[Jake Lipson]

This movie won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in January.

I just got back from seeing it in a screening with less than ten other people. I thought it was absolutely fantastic. But I would strongly encourage avoiding the trailer if you can. I usually can't because I see them in front of other films, but the spoilers in this trailer are huge. So if you can just take a flyer on this movie, that would be a good idea in this specific case.

Teyana Taylor is great in the lead role of Inez. After getting out of prison, she kidnaps her son from the foster system. A.V. Rockwell establishes herself as a writer-director to watch with a gripping premise and beautiful execution of her ideas.

I really don't want to get into anything else here in order to protect the movie so you can experience it fresh. I'm glad I didn't know very much going into it. But I thought it was worth my time and attention and money. I was very satisfied with it and highly recommend it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I wanted to bump this thread one more time because it looks like A Thousand and One is already beginning to shed showtimes. My theater will have it for two showtimes per day this weekend. Last weekend, it started with its own dedicated auditorium with four shows per day. Now, it will share an auditorium, alternating with something else. I suspect my local theater will not be the only one to do this. When this happens, it is usually a precursor to dropping the film altogether the next week.

I'm not going to judge anyone's means or desire to go to a movie. Your money and time are yours to spend. But I did want to say one more time that this movie is really good and worth seeking out if you can. So if you do have the time, means and desire to go out for this while it is still in theaters, I would encourage you to do that. It is a really special film and I am glad I went to see it. I bring this up just because the film might not hang onto screens much longer. So if you do want to see it theatrically, you might want to try to go sooner rather than later.

 

[JoeStemme]

A.V. Rockwell's gritty Sundance award-winning drama about a headstrong woman named Inez (Teyana Taylor) who will jump through any barrier in order to keep her life together. Rockwell (who also wrote) sets her tale in New York city. Inez takes her seven year old son Terry out of foster care and rents a ratty apartment. Her ex, Lucky (William Catlett), eventually joins them and they make for an uneasy family. The timeline covers over a decade in their lives.

It begins in 1994 in what Rockwell clearly depicts as “Rudy Giuliani's New York”. No matter what Inez says or does, it seems to always be interpreted in the most negative manner conceivable. Of course, she doesn't make it any easier on herself by being as brutally honest as she can be. Terry (played by three actors) just wants a mother and a place to call “home”. To Rockwell's credit, she never takes the obvious way out. She just shows the reality of the situation. There will be no magical saviors or heaven-sent miracles. Inez and Lucky are stuck in a cycle of poverty and all they can do is to pray that Terry can break free of that vicious circle.

Eric Yue's cinematography never glamorizes the surroundings and is augmented by some very well chosen stock footage to convincingly depict the three time periods (1994, 2001 & 2005). The music is similarly well-chosen.

Taylor and Catlett are exceptional, never overplaying the drama, nor hiding behind any semblance of vanity to make their characters “look good”. The only major flaw here is how 17 year old Terry (Josiah Cross) is portrayed. The audience is told he's an incredibly bright student, yet he's never really given the opportunity to demonstrate it. Terry is shown to be shy from an early age, but, it's still frustrating to never see any true assertiveness from the young man. He's a whiz at science and math -- but, wants to be an artist (a common Sundance trope). These aren't a fatal flaws, but, notable.

A THOUSAND AND ONE (the title refers to the apartment address) is a strong feature debut for Rockwell, with a heart-breaking final act which, in keeping with the main body of the movie, gives no facile solutions. Just more questions.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Amazon is taking pre-orders for a DVD release. No Blu-ray is currently listed. It looks like they might not be putting it out in HD on physical media. Ugh.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The DVD release is out this week, May 23.

It looks like regular price digital rentals will begin June 16.