This movie is an Amazon original and only like an hour long. What drew me to watch it was a colorful still of Donald Glover looking at Rihanna; suffice to say, I was immediately sold. They star in the film and play a couple living on a small island named Guava Island.
Elevator Pitch
The movie opens with a brief children’s tale of the island, narrated by Rihanna. The island was a paradise created by the gods, people found a rare, beautiful, blue silk, bringing capitalism and sweat shops. The main characters, Deni (Glover) and Kofi (Rihanna) work for the company that dominates the island, called Red. Deni is a musician and wants to unite the people of the island with a song. Kofi wants to travel the world.
Symbolism
There’s a lot of symbolism in this film, both overt and subtle. For example, a huge theme in most shots of the movie is the idea that blue represents love, freedom, the people of the island, and red represents war, greed, and submission.
The Music
The music fits the setting and vibe of the island and does a cool thing where it seamlessly integrates a few of Gambino’s songs. Would you believe me if I said that This Is America was one of those songs? I made a loud exclamation and sat up, agape to watch the alternate music video. It was awesome.
Because Deni is a musician, it’s a given that you’ll hear him perform, but I was surprised when the credits rolled without any singing from Rihanna. She dances a little bit, but no singing. So don’t get your hopes up for that.
Tapping Out
There’s a lot of positive things I could say about this movie, but honestly, I got writer’s block right now, so I’ll leave it there. Short review for a short movie. As I said, it’s an hour-long movie and can be watched on Amazon Prime. Highly recommend.
Rating: 10/12 stars. One star for every crazy face Donald Gambino makes.
Fun Fact, the songs were credited as “written by Donald Glover, performed by Childish Gambino.”
