Tales of independent filmmaking hardship have become passé at this point in time. Pick up any indie film-focused book or magazine published in the past decade and you’ll be able to read a plethora of stories about fledgling auteurs sleeping in the backseats of their cars, eating nothing but Ramen noodles for a month straight, stealing film stock, etc. all while trying to commit their personal vision to celluloid. While these pained accounts may always hold some intrinsic entertainment value, it can be difficult to get excited about these yarns, because, well, haven’t we heard it all before?

In telling the tale of his trailblazing father’s battle to make his revolutionary 1971 movie, “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” Mario Van Peebles (“New Jack City,” “Panther”) proves that even the most familiar story beats can lay the foundation for a fantastic film. “Baadasssss!” is told with fiery passion, but the director’s ability to remain so levelheaded while chronicling an experience that was obviously quite personal is the movie’s main triumph. “Baadasssss!” works not only in the contexts of a docudrama, biopic and underdog story, but also -- albeit to a lesser degree than “Sweet Sweetback” -- a social document. Melvin Van Peebles’ incendiary work certainly provided a voice for minority (not just African-American) filmmakers, and very much helped shape American independent cinema into the form it resembles today. It’s about time a movie came along to pay tribute to the director’s groundbreaking effort.

As “Baadasssss!” begins, Melvin Van Peebles (Mario Van Peebles) is riding the wave of his first two successful films, “The Story of a Three Day Pass” and “Watermelon Man.” Well on his way to a successful career as a Hollywood director, and having landed a three-picture deal with Columbia, Van Peebles decides, much to the chagrin and confusion of his agent, that his next effort will be a movie about “a real brother.” Fed up with the media portrayal of African-Americans, the director comes up with the radical idea to make a movie where the black protagonist is actually empowered and exacts revenge on antagonists such as racist police officers. A frightening concept for a film, especially given the racial climate of the late 60s/early 70s, Van Peebles is not able to find studio backing for his picture, and the independent sources he seeks out also fall apart.

So Van Peebles, against practically all logic, finances the movie himself -- basically wagering everything he owns on the film. With his mixed race crew of mainly non-professionals, Van Peebles is able to keep the unions from shutting down production by disguising his work as a smut film. But the lack of funding continues to plague the project, and the director is constantly on the verge of letting his ego run amuck. This problem is most apparent when he lets part of his crew spend a weekend in jail after they are unfairly arrested merely for possessing movie equipment. If that’s not enough, he also demands that his young son play a character in the movie who loses his virginity to a promiscuous older woman. When all’s said and done, Melvin is nearly blind in one eye, and the film’s micro-distributor only has the funds to open the movie in one second- rate theater in Detroit.

Of course, “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” would go on, even with its X rating, to become the most successful independent film of the year. “Baadasssss!” is based on the book Melvin Van Peebles wrote shortly after the release of his movie, detailing the hardships and tumult he endured during the course of the production. Mario’s rendering of his father is frank, showing Melvin as self-absorbed, controlling and domineering -- a person willing to risk the well being of his family to make this movie. If “Sweet Sweetback” had failed, Melvin’s life also would have been in some degree of ruin. At a certain point, the man had painted himself into a corner and succeeding was the only option.

"Baadasssss!” does a superb job of presenting the context of the situation. You never feel as if this is just a movie about the making of a movie -- you understand that something much more significant is at stake. And when Melvin’s health begins to deteriorate, there’s no way to misunderstand the trauma he has put himself through. While Melvin is not always an easy person to like, you are always rooting for the film to succeed. Van Peebles surrounded himself with a group of ultimately likeable cohorts, including his friend/producer, Bill Harris (Rainn Wilson), his overly dramatic assistant, Priscilla (Joy Bryant) and a menacing but down-to-earth boom operator known as Big T (Terry Crews).

While all of the performances are good, Van Peebles owns this movie. His intensity is totally focused, never losing control of the character for a moment. While not necessarily a mistake, as the writer/director, he perhaps could’ve dropped the mockumentary interviews with the film’s crew, as these scenes did nothing but pull me out of the movie. The film speaks so well on its own that no gimmicks are needed to further convey the message.

This is a story that simply needed to be told, and I doubt anyone could’ve pulled it off better than Mario Van Peebles. With energy and enthusiasm practically oozing from every frame, “Baadasssss!” stands as one of the most enjoyable films I’ve seen so far in 2004.

Warren Curry

Related links:
IMDB: Baadasssss! (2004)