'The Black Sea' Review: A Slice of Brooklyn in Bulgaria | SXSW 2024
You can take the Black man out of Brooklyn, but you can't take Brooklyn out of the Black man. That's the proverb illustrated throughout Crystal Moselle and Derrick B. Harden's The Black Sea, an experimental display of modern human Darwinism at its finest – or at least a form of it. Instead of spurring a message about natural selection, their Bulgarian-set dramedy presents a shape of it with heartfelt intent.
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 36 Minutes
Production Companies: Kotva Films, Give Thanks
Distributor: N/A
Directors: Crystal Moselle, Derrick B. Harden
Writers: Crystal Moselle, Derrick B. Harden
Cast: Derrick B. Harden, Irmena Chichikova, Samuel Finzi, Stoyo Mirkov
Release Date: N/A
SXSW 2024 Coverage
Brooklyn-based opportunist Khalid (Harden) quits his barista job after receiving an invitation from a Bulgarian sugar mama who flies him to her country. Immediately after he shows up at her place, he learns that his client kicked the bucket. With few funds in his pocket, Khalid finds himself wandering as the only Black man in Bulgaria, looking for odd jobs to help him get home. His misadventures led him to a charming local travel agent named Ina (Irmena Chichikova). Khalid's coffee skills and Ina’s experience prompted the two to work together and open a coffee shop – to the disapproval of Georgi (Stoyo Mirkov), Ina's ex and their town’s mob boss.
Like Chloe Zhao, Crystal Moselle is one of the few filmmakers working today who effectively captures contemporary, naturalistic, slice-of-life stories. Whether she explores it through narratives (Skate Kitchen) or documentaries (The Wolfpack), her definitive verite style is so strong that she can film whatever project without needing a screenplay or actor rehearsal, and it would still be visually impressive. The Black Sea is the primary example of that comment. Once again, Moselle's observant Verite style is the crux of the film's immersion. It retains her grounded yet stellar naturalistic cinematography and illustrates the magic within the location. She did the same in NYC with Skate Kitchen and Betty and does the same here with Bulgaria.
You can take the Black man out of Brooklyn, but you can't take Brooklyn out of the Black man. That's the proverb illustrated throughout Crystal Moselle and Derrick B. Harden's The Black Sea, an experimental display of modern human Darwinism at its finest—or at least a form of it. Instead of spurring a message about natural selection, their Bulgarian-set dramedy presents a shape of it with heartfeltness.
Brooklyn-based opportunist Khalid (Harden) quits his barista job after receiving an invitation from a Bulgarian sugar mama who flies him to her country. Immediately after he lands on the island and arrives at her place, he learns that his client has kicked the bucket. With a few funds in his pocket, Khalid finds himself wandering as the only Black man in Bulgaria, looking for odd jobs to help him get home. His misadventures lead him to a charming local travel agent, Ina (Irmena Chichikova). Khalid's know-how and coffee skills and Ina's lived experience prompt the two to work together and create a coffee shop together––to the disapproval of Georgi (Stoyo Mirkov), Ina's ex and their town's mob boss.
Right up there with Chloe Zhao, Crystal Moselle is one of the few filmmakers working today who effectively captures contemporary, naturalistic, slice-of-life stories in a down-to-earth manner. Whether she explores it through narratives (Skate Kitchen) or documentaries (The Wolfpack), her definitive verite style is so strong that she can film whatever project without needing a screenplay or actors’ rehearsal. The Black Sea is a primary example of this. Once again, Moselle's observant style is the crux of the film's immersion. It retains her grounded cinematography and illustrates the magic within the location. She did it with NYC in Skate Kitchen and Betty, and The Black Sea extends her reach to Bulgaria.
Derrick B. Harden's voice confidently carries the picture due to his enthusiastic persona and charm. He bears that old-school Black man style; the personable and friendly street-wise brothers who are unserious in their motion while humility and self-awareness aren't in their vocabulary. However, their grounded, hustler mentality and extroverted demeanor compensate for their negative traits. He's so Brooklyn that some of his skill set helps him in random situations. A scene where Khalid teaches Ina to make good matcha comes to mind as he tells her, "Since they gentrified Brooklyn, this is all I can ever drink."
Khalid sees a guy wearing a DMX shirt on the street in one instance and straight up befriends him. He just has that magnetic charm. As a born-and-bred Brooklynite, I ate it up, as seeing these humanistic images on screen made me grin ear to ear. Harden's ad-libbed navigation through Bulgarian culture and Khalid's radiant personality prevent the movie from turning into a prolonged vacation home video.
The first half of The Black Sea is a delightful series of comedic vignettes, each placing Khalid in hilarious situations. The humor is genuine and balances being playful without crossing into Borat territory. One standout moment is when Khalid takes on a pool boy freelance gig on a cruise boat, clad only in Speedos. The sequence is a comedic gem, culminating in a punchline bound to leave audiences in stitches.
As Khalid becomes more entrenched in the community, finding solace and deep kinship with the people, specifically Ina, you can't help but be swept up by its endearing atmosphere. Despite having no script whatsoever, Moselle and Harden capture a Paddington-level nice-core energy that offers a reputable arc for its lead about self-efficiency, second chances, and the importance of community. It's like a Black man's Eat, Pray, Love in that his arc shouts, "Boy, you better work to eat and pray you find love here."
The film treads dangerously close to Sacha Baron Cohen's territory with Harden's fish-out-of-water personality conflicting with Bulgaria’s culture. Thankfully, to its benefit, it quickly pivots to a much more enticing character tale.
Despite its relatively short runtime, the film's pacing meanders at times. It veers back into vignette territory several times after its narrative kicks in. Additionally, the conventional dramatic beats regarding Ina and Khalid's romance don't always land as effectively as one might hope.
A rare occasion where "cinematic freestyling" works thanks to the skillful team of Crystal Moselle behind the lens and Derrick B. Harden front and center, The Black Sea is a charming and entertaining dramedy that makes Bulgaria look like a slice of Brooklyn.
Rating: 3/5 | 66%
