alr

Passing Through

Screening on Film
Directed by Larry Clark.
With Nathaniel Taylor, Clarence Muse, Pamela Jones.
US, 1977, 16mm, color, 111 min.
Print source: UCLA

Upon being released from prison after murdering a music-industry mobster, a jazz saxophonist searches for his mentor while trying to reunite his band. The allegorical narrative works to define jazz as the musical expression of the Black experience, with its African roots and its American battles with appropriation and exploitation. The film also leaves plenty of time for the music itself, from the onscreen appearances by Horace Tapscott and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra to the performances by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Sun Ra on the soundtrack. By combining music, allegory and analysis, Passing Through has achieved canonical status as one of the few great jazz films.

PRECEDED BY

  • When It Rains

    Directed by Charles Burnett .
    With Ayuko Babu, Florence Bracy .
    US, 1995, 16mm, color, 13 min.
    Print source: UCLA

In the hands of Charles Burnett, the simple story of a woman turning to her neighbors in order to pay the rent becomes a captivating yet gently humorous slice of life illustrating the profound importance of community. 

Part of film series

Read more

L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema

Current and upcoming film series

Read more

Harvard Undergraduate Cinematheque

Read more

Albert Serra, or Cinematic Time Regained

Read more

Wang Bing’s Youth Trilogy

Read more

The Shochiku Centennial Collection

Read more

Planet at 50

Read more

The Yugoslav Junction Continues!

Read more

Theo Anthony, Subject to Review

Read more

The Ideal Cinematheque of the Outskirts of the World

Read more

From the collection – Satyajit Ray