Several Friends
Several Friends
Several Friends (1969) is believed by his fans to be the precursor to Charles Burnett's
Killer of Sheep, his subsequent feature film.
Several Friends was which was originally planned as a feature but ended up a short. The
film is a series of loose, documentary-style vignettes sketching the lives of a handful of characters, mostly played by
amateurs (Burnett's friends) living in Watts. Much of the film's theme and aesthetic (even some of its actors) ended up
in Killer of Sheep.
Reviews
"Like Killer of Sheep, Several Friends shows the labor that's necessary at home, to literally maintain the home, but it shows it in a more lumpen sequence without the family. The actions of moving a washing machine or fixing a car engine are randomly picked up, more alienated. These are moments, tender and strange at times, of perseverance in both large and small orders, shown to be dependent on community, large and small. One wonders, however, when the car is fixed and the clothes are washed, will these youths abandon the community?"
- Andy Rector, at Firpresci.com
"An improvised late '60's short-subject student film, and debut movie of Director, Charles Burnett; done in the neo-realist, documentary film style. A day-in-the-life South Central L.A. tale about a rag-tag group of unemployed black male pals. The realistic dialogue and attitudes of the principal players will remind the viewer of latter day Spike Lee/ Ice Cube movies. The moving of the washing machine scene will remind one of the 'engine carrying' sequence' of Burnett's '77 "Killer of Sheep" Feature. Inspiring."
- tonywatt3000@yahoo.ca on IMDB.com
