Sounder (1972) (G, 1972)

common sense media says

A strong family triumphs over poverty and racism.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there's a bit of mild language. But it's all in the service of the movie, which doesn't pull punches in depicting the poverty, desperation, and bigotry of the rural South during the Great Depression.

Positive messages: Depicts the poverty, desperation, and bigotry of the rural South during the Great Depression.
Violence: Implied rather than depicted. The dog Sounder is shot but recovers. Father Nathan Lee Morgan is hauled out of his family's arms and sent to a prison camp, but the resolution of this injustice is the foundation of the film.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: A nasty insult and "shut up" are used casually once each; "bastards" once in righteous anger.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Sounder (1972)

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about whether movies usually depict life realistically. Do movies ever gloss over distasteful but real life experiences such as poverty, death, or loss? Why or why not? Does this movie do so? Do you think realism adds to or detracts from stories?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Set during the depression, SOUNDER follows the story of the Morgan family, black sharecroppers in rural Louisiana. Hunting late at night, David Lee (Kevin Hooks) and his father (Paul Winfield) fail to bring home some desperately needed meat. But a day later, David's mother, Rebecca (Cicely Tyson), shakes him and his younger sister and brother awake to the smell of frying ham. In short order, the sheriff and a landowner show up to arrest dad Nathan for smokehouse burglary. When Rebecca leaves to learn her husband's fate, David shoulders the tasks of an adult. After Nathan is sentenced to a year of hard labor, Rebecca and David find out he's been sent far away. Rebecca sends David off to contact him and, on the way, David meets a trailblazing teacher in an all-black school and determines to attend. When Nathan comes home lamed, he supports David's wish, but it takes the family -- and David himself -- some time to realize that this is the best course for all of them.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Without sugar-coating the hard lives of black Louisiana sharecroppers, the Morgan family's enduring ties to each other set alight this film depicting the poverty, desperation, and bigotry of the rural South during the Great Depression. Beautifully enhanced by the country blues of Lightnin' Hopkins and the hollers and rough-hewn cakewalks of the inimitable Taj Mahal (who appears as Ike), Sounder stands out as an honest celebration of a strong family's triumph over poverty and racism. The transformation of svelte, elegant Cicely Tyson into the ragged, destitute Rebecca epitomizes the sharp contrast between the life most Americans lead and the back-breaking, desperate circumstances the Morgan family transcends.

Winfield and Tyson skillfully balance between the proud flash of individuality, and the drab obsequious shell society demands. In support, a range of actors with real -- if largely unknown -- faces adds to the film's authentic feel, including Kevin Hooks as a convincing David, whose attachment to his father is palpable. It takes an argument before Nathan can acknowledge that love and before David realizes that it is out of an equal love that his father urges him toward the faraway school. The other children onscreen are frequently wooden, a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent production. The hard, hot light of the rural South floods its scenes, revealing the depths of feeling which saw some families through such trials.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: United American Video
Director: Marcus Raboy
Cast: Carmen Mathews, Cicely Tyson, James Best
Genre: Drama
Run time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release: September 24, 1972
DVD release: April 30, 2002
MPAA Rating: G

This review was written by S. K. List
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

book_lover411
teen, 15 years old
 
a must see
teachers if ur readin this make sure u show this to ur class b/c its a great movie


kid, 12 years old
 
A nasty insult and "shut up" are used casually once each; "B-stards" once in righteous anger.
so it must be for older kids.


teen, 14 years old
 
A nasty insult and "shut up" are used casually once each; "B-stards" once in righteous anger.
so it must be for older kids.


kid, 11 years old
 
A nasty insult and "shut up" are used casually once each; "B-stards" once in righteous anger.
so it must be for older kids.

zaidoo
kid, 7 years old
 
good
I loved it and so did my dad I think your family should watch this great movie about education.

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