A virtually plotless meditation on a sphere of the African-American experience most people will be unaware of, Julie Dash's extraordinary "Daughters of the Dust" is one of the most beautiful looking films ever made as well as being one of the greatest of independent American films though its lack of 'plot' and its languid pace were never likely to lead to queues around the block; this is a film that requires an amount of work from its audience.
You could, of course, simply let its beauty wash over you but for a truly immersive experience you need to pay close attention to writer/director Dash's elliptical dialogue and what is happening, or indeed not happening, on the screen. It is a film without stars but rather a cast of wonderfully naturalistic actors who fully embody their characters. This is the film that should have established Dash as one of the most important directors working in cinema at the time but which was obviously too esoteric for mass consumption. Now that it's been rediscovered we should treasure it.
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