This film from 2001 contains topical ideas and material, but its repetitiveness and lack of cinematic style make it clear why it hasn’t found a wide audience
As an Act of Protest premiered at the
American Black film festival in 2001, but only now has it received distribution. In retrospect that’s no great mystery: it’s a self-consciously confrontational “cinematic poem” about a difficult subject. It’s also possible that director Dennis Leroy Kangalee would have considered it selling out to court a wider audience, at least based on the disgruntled theatre-group leader he plays on screen.
Kangalee a real
New York dramatist and poet, who worked with politically progressive theatre groups in the years leading up to 9/11. From the poorly lit shots and awkward editing, it’s clear that theatre, not film, is his first creative language. The script’s digs at “Hollywood directors” suggest this may even be a point of pride. Some more entertaining scenes are also set in a chaotic rehearsal space, as arguing actors raise their voices to compete with the noise from outdoor drilling and a discordant jazz soundtrack.