No spoilers!!
The only time I’ve ever seen more people gathered at the cinema was for Ryan Coogler’s masterpiece, Wakanda Forever. I had missed the first wave that was Black Panther, living on a mountain in Japan at the time, and ended up buying the film on Blu-ray. Incidentally, it now sits proudly among the keepsakes on my TV stand.
Black Panther wasn’t just a great superhero flick—it was a cultural moment, etched into our minds by Coogler’s bespoke writing and visionary direction. We saw ourselves unaffected by colonialism, engaging with the world on our terms, excelling in science and technology, enriched by tradition and our own way of life. This was masterfully captured through stunning cinematography, detailed world-building, and an elite Black cast led by the late, great Chadwick Boseman.
So, coming from such an acclaimed filmmaker, I don’t know why I didn’t expect that everyone would be rushing to see Sinners, set in Jim Crow Mississippi and starring Michael B. Jordan—twice. Jordan plays the Smoke Stack twins, who return from Chicago with stolen money and bootleg liquor, intent on opening a juke joint of their own.
By the time the line receded and I got to the cashier, it was sold out. Disappointed, I walked over to the film poster and made a short video, thinking I’d post it anyway in support of Coogler and the crew. My friend and I were just about to leave when one of the attendants at the gate said to us, “So unu nuh waan watch sum’n else?” Seeing the look on my face, she continued, “Or try the cashier again, see if they have any seats left.”
Reluctantly, I walked back to the window thinking to myself, This can’t be it. But it was. It was it. Two box seats suddenly became available, and we rushed inside.
Sinners is one of those films that stays with you for days. It’s a film you have to watch more than once—there’s simply too much to unpack. Coogler explores themes of segregation and oppression; spirituality and storytelling through music—the blues that gave them hope and catharsis, yet they still couldn’t fully own, as even their pain was appropriated. He shows how Chinese store owners, who had come to the South for a better life, had to play both sides of the street—literally—one shop for whites on one side, and another for Blacks on the other.
All of this is skillfully woven into a 2-hour and 17-minute vampire story. Yes—a vampire story. A fitting metaphor of predation that underscores themes of possession and the ownership of everything they had—even their very life source. But Sinners is, at its heart, a story of defiance and resistance. That is the Black story in America—a story of warfare and survival.
The cast and crew were exceptional. And as for Jordan and Coogler—it’s clear they’re the new Denzel and Spike Lee. Together, they can do no wrong.
