WHAT WE INHERIT disappointed me.
The film is filmmaker Kacim Steets Azouz attempt to come to terms with the
fact that his family was slave holders 200 years ago, as well as his attempt to
connect to the family of the people his family owned.
While what the film is trying to do is good, the fact that
the whole affair is framed from the start as having slave owner ancestors is one of the worst things
possible. Azouz and his family are filled
with so much navel gazing and self deprecating hand wringing as the result of discovering the slave holding that it never
feels real or honest. Why would they instantly feel such deep emotion about people
that lived centuries before when they barely knew they existed? It feels manufactured. I’m not saying they don’t have a right to feel
that but the way its presented in the film never rings true. Ifit was father or grandfather, of someone they knew I could understand but this felt like they were playing to the camera.
There is an important discussion to be had about how we feel
about the things our ancestors did, but this never really felt like a
discussion and it was more a polemic and position paper.
While not bad, and while it starts the discussion, there is more to be discussed.
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