Review of The Exiles (1961) by Mat H — 03 Apr 2012

Shot over a period of several years, this is an amazing documentary look at the lives of Native Americans who had left the reservation to live in Los Angeles. The stark black-and-white cinematography is as compelling and as elegantly composed as anything from Hollywood; in fact, the cinematography has an almost film noir grittiness which is highly expressive of the marginalized lives of the characters.

During the 1950s and 1960s, one of the big problems for independent productions was sound. Portable synch-sound equipment was not readily available, and so many filmmakers had to struggle with trying to create an adequate soundtrack. It can't be said that Kent MacKenzie and his crew solved the problem: there is often the hollow sound of obvious post-synching, a.k.a., dubbing. But the images are so strong, and there remain such obvious honesty and dedication that the film can be said to be truly revelatory, about people who were at that time largely rendered invisible if not outright caricatured. This is one movie which certainly can be said to embody that elusive quality: truth.