When I tell you, our March film club was so full. So I really wanna share. So today's reminder for our upcoming April film club is a report back on our March film club! Starting with our feature, Neptune Frost.

“Little Black Girl Algorithm…”

Most folx hadn't seen Neptune Frost before. And this frustrated us. It's such a Black film! We talked about how, for film insiders, we received quite a bit of promotional material and excitement around the film's theatrical run. But. (...) Status quo cinephiles were prioritized in publication push. Why wasn't there a concerted insert in reaching out to Black audiences? And was this intentional, one film club member wondered.

We Propose Soundtracks...

Now there is a Neptune Frost soundtrack. It's Saul Williams's "Unanimous Goldmine". That's a huge upside to films made by musician multidisciplinary artists, no? One film club member also pondered if the film is based on Saul Williams's 2016 album, "MartyrLoserKing," which is also the name of one of the film's two protagonists (you gotta say the name out loud to get it!). And one of our most stalwart film club members felt a synergy between the film and Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!" 

"My mother and father were binary stars…" 

We wondered ... what to make of the coupling of the two protagonists? Who are one and the same? The sealing together and healing of a singular being? And does this kissing scene unnecessarily sexualize the protagonists and by extension, the film? And because of this, and more, would we consider this a Black queer film? 

And let's close with the characters. Their names, in particular. Let’s take Eholel. One member pointed out that the suffix “-el” means god and/or “tool of Gods”, which we agreed lined up with how Eholel moves across the space of the film. And then there's Memory and Psychology, how they play off of each other, how they name themselves. Psychology always speaking in Riddles, with memory always pulling from bygone times. 

"It felt like a musical…" 

We all agreed that Neptune Frost is as much musical as it is film. A few of us did not know this ahead of time, and were happy that we didn't! I don't know about you, but this film person does not like musicals. One member thought it felt like Shakespeare. Another member described the in-theater cinematic experience as one which will blow you a way.