The Veil Film Analysis

In its 80 minute runtime the film makes no attempt to create continuity between the seemingly self contained episodic cuts in order to create a plot driven narrative. Nor does the film seem concerned about character development. This unorthodox technique made it hard for me to follow the movie, as I am more attuned to the traditional formulaic Hollywood style of filmmaking. I spent the first 25-30 minutes waiting for the plot to unfold. Yet, I now realize that it is the omission of a plot that makes the film brilliant. Unlike in the Godfather II the film does not depict a mans rise to power, nor does it show an epic struggle for independence like in the Battle of Algiers. Rather, it simply depicts the mundane lives of people who are rarely portrayed in movies. There is no epic tale to be told, the audience is …show more content…
In the essay he gives an autobiographical account of his experience of the "veil" as a elementary student attending an integrated school. He describes the Veil that exists between himself and his fellow students, who were white, stating he “held all beyond in common contempt, and lived above it in a region of blue sky and great wandering shadows.” The "veil" seemed to be most evident to Du Bois after a white girl refused to except his hand written card in elementary school. The incident serves as a catalyst to the philosophy that Du Bois eventually adopts as an adult. Yet I can 't help but think that the children in the film live without this "veil" because their neighborhood is primarily black and most likely so are their schools. Moreover, the only two white people in the entire film do not appear to live extraordinary lives nor do they seem to have much of an impact on the black population. Because much of Du Bois ' success seems to be predicated on his ability to transcend the "veil", I wonder if the lack of the veil will have a detmetal effect on the drive and ambition of the children of