Written and Directed by Ayoka Chenzira
Starring Victoria Gabrielle Platt, Kim Weston-Moran, Mizan Kirby, and Lee Dobson
Running Time 1 hour and 25 minutes
Unrated
Available on digital platforms October 11

by Charlie Brigden, Staff Writer

It's an age-old coming-of-age story, with a young person growing up and the truth that the role models they fixate upon will determine their eventual path. Alma's Rainbow, however, is something different. Released initially in 1994 and now given a 4K restoration and a new lease of life, Ayoka Chenzira's picture is a remarkably fresh and sincere look at a matriarchal Black family in the nineties.

Young Rainbow (Victoria Gabrielle Platt) is on the cusp of womanhood, obsessed with dreams beyond the Brooklyn brownstone she lives in with her sensible mother, Alma (Kim Weston-Moran). The latter also has a beauty parlour there. But Alma's attempts to keep Rainbow's head firmly on her shoulders and not in the clouds are interrupted by the arrival of Alma's sister Ruby (Mizan Kirby). She is also a performer, albeit one less successful than she would like.

Rainbow already has her idea of where she wants to be and is part of a dancing trio who ply their trade on the streets of New York. But her two male compatriots, Sea Breeze (Roger Pickering) and Pepper (Keyonn Sheppard) are more interested in women and how they can use their moves to get as many of them as they can.

This is one of Rainbow's frustrations; she often dreams of sweat-covered make-out sessions with family friend Miles (Isaiah Washington), but in reality, she sees herself as plain and not alluring. Despite her being amid puberty, that is (she's dancing in public when she gets her first period, where Pepper bursts into loud laughter at her confusion). The film is uncommonly non-judgmental, at least compared to films with equivalent white characters, where a focus is put on Rainbow's sexuality while pointing at the way Black girls are pushed into adulthood way too soon.

And her sexuality is where Ruby's influence begins to take hold, with her striking and sexy style Rainbow views as something to aspire to, while Alma has seen it all before and is decidedly unimpressed. Ruby buys a dress for Rainbow that she wears to a party where she aggressively pursues Sea Breeze to the point of wanting to consummate their relationship, being somewhat deflated when she finds out he doesn't have a condom. What's impressive is the agency given to Rainbow, which is something often not afforded to girls and women–Black girls particularly–in contemporary cinema. Chenzira brilliantly devises the juxtaposition here, having Rainbow riding to the party in her beautiful dress but on a bicycle, one of the ultimate symbols of childhood innocence.

Bitterness between Alma and Ruby compounds the fractured mother-daughter relationship. Brief snatches of backstory tell us they used to be a singing duo, seemingly ending with Rainbow's arrival. Chenzira allows us to see fragments of memories through scratchy moments filmed in monochrome peppered throughout the film. Images of Alma and Ruby as their Flamingo Sisters act, of Rainbow as a baby. But it's all so fragile and distant-as if these memories or relationships can never be restored.

But rather than being a cautionary tale, as many films of its ilk are where they try to insert their usually-conservative messages into the narrative clumsily, Alma's Rainbow is a celebration of Black womanhood. It's sublime how the three leads act as a prism, with both the best and worst of Alma and Ruby projected upon Rainbow, who subsequently gains the courage to be herself.

There's a certain tenderness Chenzira brings to how we're allowed into Rainbow's life, especially the most intimate yet everyday moments, such as Alma bathing her daughter after she begins her period. She sees Rainbow has been binding her breasts to hide them and ward off attention (also indicating the contradictory way the onset of puberty fucks with feelings) and notices that all her guidance is as essential as it's ever been.

Platt is stunning as Rainbow, with an honest and, at times, heartbreaking performance. She effortlessly navigates the pushing and pulling of her life and the natural curiosity without tact that people of her age have. For example, when asking if Ruby is her birth mother, for no reason other than they seem to enjoy the same pursuits, not knowing or thinking about Alma's earlier exploits which she gave up for her daughter. There's also a fearlessness; when she decides to have sex with Sea Breeze, she just tells him to unzip his trousers while she takes off her underwear and then asks if it's in yet. It's a beautifully funny moment that's also completely honest and real, which sums up this film.

Kim Weston-Moran does a lot with Alma. There's a lot of repression in her, and regret and bitterness, and she finds it without constantly letting it all out. The film also looks at her sexuality and liberation, trying to move on from previous bad relationships and picking up with handyman Blue (Dobson), who is funny and sweet. There's one scene where their lovemaking is interrupted by Rainbow coming home early from the party, and they're both sitting there pretending nothing has happened while one of his socks is lying just in front of the couch.

Zirza's Ruby is interesting, not showy but still capturing her extroverted personality and her attempts to be flashy despite her not having the funds to prop up her lifestyle. Interestingly, she's crying out for familial love, which shows her affection towards Rainbow, but she's unwilling to settle down. She's also acting as a prostitute to please the local undertaker/loan shark, something her sister has turned down seemingly many times, but again there's no judgement placed on her.

The film is so colourful and full of bright tones, capturing a story of Black characters that don't hem to the stereotypes we're so used to, especially in the era of filmmaking that the picture was initially released. Chenzira and cinematographer Ronald K. Gray have kept it stagey in a good way. The locations are limited; the main ones are Alma's house, her parlor, and the park where Rainbow's trio dances, which makes it feel like the characters are very much at the forefront. Even the attempted sex scene in a tunnel feels like a very sparse setpiece, but fascinating for that.

Alma's Rainbow is a genuinely exceptional piece of filmmaking. Entirely unpretentious and refreshing in its drama and its outlook, it's an important picture. So it's great that this new beautiful 4K restoration, presented by filmmaker Julie Dash and funded by the Mellody Hobson and George Lucas Film Foundation, will allow the film to reach a new set of viewers and pave the way for it to receive the plaudits it deserves.