A Patch of Blue - some help please

[CineMaven]

I still hold on to my opinion on how Hollywood dealt (deals) with the issue of race...same sex (the two big ticket items many humans struggle with). But your post was extremely compelling, Mr. A., and I hope I don't do movies or myself a disservice. I hope I can recognize when, in movies...a cigar is just a cigar, whether it's black and white or boy meets boy. I can chuckle now looking at "THE LONG SHIPS" and how Poitier was interrupted from either getting the Viking Queen or even wanting to touch his wife. (My Lord, he's too busy for Rosanna Schiaffino? What's that bell made of...gold?) I am totally inclined to agree with you. I don't live my own personal life with those doubts, but (to be honest) I do hold just that smidgen of doubt where Hollywood's motives are concerned. But I do ascribe that the hardest thing about love sometimes...is letting go, whether it's with a child, a parent or a soon-to-be ex-lover.

[Mr. Arkadin]

I still hold on to my opinion on how Hollywood dealt (deals) with the issue of race...same sex (the two big ticket items many humans struggle with). But your post was extremely compelling, Mr. A., and I hope I don't do movies or myself a disservice. I hope I can recognize when, in movies...a cigar is just a cigar, whether it's black and white or boy meets boy. I can chuckle now looking at "THE LONG SHIPS" and how Poitier was interrupted from either getting the Viking Queen or even wanting to touch his wife. (My Lord, he's too busy for Rosanna Schiaffino? What's that bell made of...gold?) I am totally inclined to agree with you. I don't live my own personal life with those doubts, but (to be honest) I do hold just that smidgen of doubt where Hollywood's motives are concerned. But I do ascribe that the hardest thing about love sometimes...is letting go, whether it's with a child, a parent or a soon-to-be ex-lover.

CM, I definitely agree with your opinion about the powers that held Hollywood at that time (and perhaps occasionally today) and I think some of that is placed in the movie. My point was simply that they raised other issues to make the story more complex and not just a simplistic "message" film. We might not all have the same issues or problems as these characters, but we can relate to them, which is more than many Hollywood movies offer.

Gordon might not be as jaded as his brother, but he is the older and wiser of the pair and realizes (from what I see registered on his face at the end of the film) that such a relationship would have a slim (if any) chance in the society in which they live. However, by watching their story unfold, our hearts have been touched and we (the viewers) hold out hope for a new outlook. The film might not change the plight of Gordon and Selina, but it does change us, which I believe was the purpose of its creation.

[charliechaplinfan]

Although the main theme of the film is race, I find the barriers between Gordon and Selina largely internal, stemming from her own issues. Selina has never had any real affection and falls upon Gordon as one who is starving, because he is providing the love and care which was always denied her. Gordon, who never intended to become romantically involved, finds himself stirred, but knows that only by broadening and enriching Selina's life can she be free to choose him. She is too dependent on him right now and needs to stand on her own two feet and make her own decisions. In short, she's still a child, and an abused one at that. While I definitely understand the"noble" aspect, I think a lot of care was taken with this film to make people see Gordon and Selina not just as an interracial couple, but two individuals who are drawn together by the basic need to give and receive love. Will she return to him? My gut instinct says no. Like The Remains of the Day (1993) (also showing this month), which also features a doomed pair in desperate need of affection, perhaps the truest realization of love is freedom, as symbolized by the pigeon Stevens and Lewis release from Darlington Hall.

This is what I feel about the film, I missed the very end so didn't see his last glance but the relationship can only prosper once Selina has gained some independence, an ability to look after herself and realisation about the abuse she suffered. She needs to find these things before she can take her relationship forward. I don't think Gordon thinks there is a future but I still believe it's in Selina's hands and heart. Presuming the school will give her all these things and should she still feel the same, I think there is a future, I am an eternal optomist.

I think what makes this such a heart warming story is the gift of life that he gives her, she isn't alive living with Roseanne, he gives her another life and a future, a truly unselfish act, it was born out of a chance meeting in the park and a gift of some sunglasses, Gordon has a very kind heart, I think he is an optomist and someone who makes things happen, he turns the wheels to get her to school. I think Gordon is a man who is used to responsibilty and has not been held back by his race.

I don't think the main theme is the inter race aspect of their relationship, which I'm sure it had more prominence in the 1960s but today it's interest can be supported by the relationship of Selina and Gordon.

[RedRiver]

This movie is about so much more than race. It would be almost the same story without that component. That's one of the beautiful things about it.

A friend of mine is having trouble with his third marriage. I told him some people just aren't meant to be partnered. In the long run, they have to go their own way. That doesn't mean they can't have friends. Even lovers. But sooner or later...

[CineMaven]

I agree with you all. I don't think "A PATCH OF BLUE" is about race, but about love...letting go...giving or getting the other to have the strength to stand on their own two feet, as a whole human being. Hartman was gentle and lovely.

[charliechaplinfan]

I found it a breathe of fresh air, I didn't expect as much as I got. Well acted and scripted, another thing I particularly enjoyed was the location shooting, I especially liked the supermarket scenes.

[charliechaplinfan]

That book of films is somewhere amongst my souvenirs. Poitier and Belafonte are good close friends.

You should watch Belafonte as a rural school principal in "BRIGHT ROAD." Then he tangles with Robert Ryan in "ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW." He's also in "ISLAND IN THE SUN" paired with Joan Fontaine and finally may I add another film of Belafonte's for your queue? "THE WORLD, THE FLESH and THE DEVIL." Belafonte, Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrer are the last three people on earth. Now, what red-blooded woman would pass up this for Mel Ferrer.



Now reallly...

I watched The World The Flesh and The Devil, there's no contest, Harry Belafonte wins hands down. I liked the film, even though I could pick huge holes in it, taken at face value, it's very entertaining and I was impressed how the filmmakers could make New York look so deserted.