Why Guava Island is so important, Donald Glover's brilliance, and a surge in representation. - Movie Talk đ
The comedy-thriller Directed by Hiro Murai âGuava Islandâ stars Glover, Rihanna, Nonso Anozie, and Letitia Wright. On Guava Island, a local musician played by Glover is determined to throw a festival for everyone to enjoy. Shot entirely in Cuba, Guava Island is not quite a musical, not quite a visual album, but maybe somewhere in between. Murai and Glover take us on a vivid journey as we experience a day with âDeni Maroonâ a young BLACK man whoâs ENTIRE mission in this film is to bring some joy to his fellow islanders for one day.
Weâve taken a few extra days to process this film, and weâve heard some criticisms of it that quite frankly we think are trash. First of all, Guava Island opens up with a beautiful animated piece that sums up all of the films backstory in a charming and humorous way, by the time the we get to the live acting the audience knows exactly what is going on, which is great considering the film is only 55 minutes long. Once we get into live action shots, the first thing we noticed was how visually STUNNING this film is. Christian Sprenger, the director of photography, captures the essence of the island and all of its inhabitants. From the colors of the buildings, to the water and sand on the beach, even the way Gloverâs bright floral shirt contrast his medium brown skin, this film was shot beautifully. We HAVE to highlight this point because it is not easy capturing the skin tones of people of color, specifically darker tones, and Guava Island knocks it out of the park.
The plot is refreshing and easy to follow and simplistic with underlying themes of the dangers of capitalism, wealth inequality, the black diaspora, black on black violence, relationships, and black children growing up fatherless. Weâve read articles about how the overall message of the film lacks nuance, however, we feel Glover made his message extremely accessible and comfortable to digest for an audience who is just looking to be entertained. Glover and Murai are giving creatives and film makers the blue print on how to give an audience a good, enjoyable experience that also reinforces a message that doesnât turn the audience away. A film doesnât need 2 hours to tell you how much capitalism sucks, and Guava Island proves this.
The film is extremely Black. The protagonists, antagonist, and everyone in between, literally all Black. Outside of the main cast, every actor was an actual Native Cuban. We actually didnât realize this until our second viewing, but this is incredible for obvious reasons. Glover continues to make strides for representation without making it seem like a gimmick. Not to throw shade on Black Panther, we love that film but walking into BP, you KNOW youâre experiencing a Black production. Guava is... different. Its Blackness wasnât on the forefront of its marketing, but it was obviously an integral part of the story. We canât get upset over the lack of diversity in projects like Game of Thrones and NOT support films like Guava Island! Glover is completely normalizing all Black productions and this is apart of his genius we have to acknowledge.
This film is important. It deserves to be considered a modern day classic. Is it going to win film of the year? No. But a Black man created a beautiful, all Black production with dope, relevant themes. Watch it because youâre a Childish Gambino fan. Watch it for the visuals. Watch it for underlying messages. Hell, watch it for Rihanna. Whatever your reason, Guava Island deserves your attention.
"Iâm really humbled having the opportunity to present something this timely and timeless. Between Rihanna and the people of Cuba, this is one of my favorite projects Iâve ever worked on," Glover said
