The Harder They Come (1972)

Imperfect, but interesting. The Harder They Come is a Jamaican film with a foot each in two different camps; one is a clear-eyed look at life among the Jamaican poor (there’s fantastic music everywhere, but there’s also a whole lot of poverty), and the other is a “blacksploitation” crime film of the sort flooding the cinemas of Kingston. Jimmy Cliff, already a successful musician in Jamaica, stars as “Ivan”, a young man come from the countryside with big dreams and a paltry inheritance from his dead grandmother. He’s going to make a name for himself, hopefully by singing. But Kingston doesn’t give him that warm a welcome – someone steals all his belongings after only a half hour, no one is interested in hiring him, and his own mother can only offer him a referral to the local church; maybe the minister can help. Ivan holds out as long as he can before visiting the church; he’s not religious, but pretty Elsa (Janet Bartley), an orphan being cared for by the minister, catches his eye.…