Ashes and Embers
(1982) Directed by Haile Gerima. Washington, D.C.:
Mypheduh Films. 120 min.
An excursion into the pained psyche of a black Vietnam veteran, brought to life by
Ethiopian-born writer-director Haile Gerima. Ned Charles is alienated from society as
a whole and especially from other blacks, as seen in his troubled relations with his
grandmother and also with his activist girlfriend and her friends.
Ashes and Embers is an original screenplay by Haile Gerima, about a Vietnam veteran,
who, several years after the war, is struggling to come to terms with his role in the war,
and his role as a Black person in America. He survives by working odd jobs in
Washington, D.C. and living with his girlfriend and her son. When criticism of his
alienated behavior come from her and a father figure too often, he runs to the streets
or to his grandmother's rural house in Virginia. Her criticism and his memories of the
past both send him fleeing again to Los Angeles, where he is surrounded by superficial
people who have forgotten how to be compassionate human beings. It is here that the
advice of his friends and grandmother combine to transform him from an embittered
ex-soldier to a strong and confident man.
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Geslewitz, Gina. "Black Film Festival Begins Wednesday."
New York Times, June 20, 1982, p. NJ2.
Maslin, Janet. "Screen: 'Ashes and Embers'."
New York Times, November 17, 1982, p. C30.
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Shepard, Richard F. "TV: PBS's 'Ashes,' About a Black Veteran."
New York Times, May 26, 1985, p. 52.
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