Retro Film Review: Panther (1995)

One of the stock characters in early 1970s "blaxploitaion" movies is a black militant - young man convinced that the armed struggle is the only way for black people to improve their position in American society. Such characters are usually presented as part of small but dedicated group. Those fictitious groups are based on real life organisations that were founded in late 1960s. The best known of such groups was Black Panther Party for Self- Protection, which became the subject of Panther, 1995 docu- drama directed by Mario Van Peebles.

Plot begins in 1966 when Bobby Seale (played by Courtney B. Vance) and Huey Newton (played by Marcus Chong), two young men from Oakland black community, grow tired of poverty, government's neglect, racism and harassment black people receive from the hands of all-white police. But they are even more tired of mainstream black leaders who preach apparently fruitless Gandhi-like methods in civil rights struggle. So they found small organisation called Black Panther Party for Self-Protection and instead of non violence they preach standing up to racist white authorities. Black Panthers with their uniforms, clenched fist salute and other paramilitary insignia soon become popular among many young black people all over the country and bring attention and sympathies of other anti-establishment forces in America. But they also bring attention of all-powerful and paranoid FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (played by Richard Dysart) who is convinced that Black Panthers are nothing more than Communist front. So he orchestrates covert campaign against Panthers that includes wiretaps, legal and illegal harassment and infiltration of agent provocateurs. One of such men is Judge (played by Kadeem Harrison), good-natured Vietnam War veteran who reluctantly joins Panthers only to be recruited as snitch for local policeman Brimmer (played by Jon Doe Baker). When Newton finds out about that, he uses Judge as double agent in order to feed false information to the enemy.

There was lot of passion involved in making Panther. That is hardly surprising since the scriptwriter was Melvin Van Peebles, legendary black filmmaker well-acquainted with Newton and Seale and quite familiar to the events depicted in film. This passion was passed on his son Mario, talented director who used new MTV- style of film making in order to make story of Black Panthers "hip" and more accessible to younger generations. However, Panther misses the mark, not despite, but because of passion of people involved. Zeal to have Black Panthers story told resulted in hagiographic portrayal at the expense of believable, multi- dimensional characterisation. To make things even worse, Panther shares the major mistake of Oliver Stone's JFK - plot which is combination of well-documented, well-researched and historically accurate events and something that came from filmmaker's imagination. Because of that, authenticity of Panther is tainted and its "docu-drama" credentials are compromised.

Filmmakers nail the coffin with the finale that belongs more to pulp fiction novels than to serious examination of socio-political situation of late 1960s America – violent confrontation that results from joint FBI-Mafia conspiracy. According to Van Peebles, the end of Black Panthers (and any hope for black revolution) came because Mafia managed to flood black neighbourhoods with cheap heroin. The truth, of course, is more prosaic and it is unintentionally hinted by mulatto FBI agent in the film – black people are minority in USA. And Black Panthers were minority within minority, small band of extremists whose ideas of revolutionary struggle had very little to do with socio-economic realities of late 1960s and early 1970s America. Implementation of Mao's and Castro's teachings, well-suited for impoverished Third World peasants in the countryside, would have completely disastrous effects in black urban environments (as leftist "urban guerrillas" in 1970s Latin America learned the hard way in similar circumstances). The government intimidation is only part of the answer why Black Panthers came to an end. Corruption, factionalism and disillusionment of its members also played major part (and the movie, concentrated on Black Panthers' rise and not portraying their fall, clearly omits that) and it is arguable that this organisation, like many others, failed to survive because of its internal weaknesses.

However, despite its major weakness, Panther is quite watchable film. Mario Van Peebles tells the story quite energetically, and the acting is superb. Kadeem Harrison is good choice for the role of Judge, fictitious character who serves this film very as some sort of narrator/guide. Courtney B. Vance and Marcus Chong are good choices for Seale and Newton, and even Jon Doe Baker and Richard Dysart handle their thankless and one-dimensional roles very well. The choice of music is very careful and the audience can feel the spirit of the era. In the end, Panther is not historically accurate and some of the politics is controversial, but it could stimulate the audience to learn more about the era and its socio-political dilemmas, some of them actual even today.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on November 13th 2002)

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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/41478-panther/images/backdrops?language=en-US
Critic: AA