52/72: THE HARDER THEY COME

 by Anthony King

The harder they fall.

Well, they tell me of a pie up in the sky / Waiting for me when I die / But between the day you're born and when you die / They never seem to hear even your cry

I remember the first time I watched Perry Henzell's Jamaican crime film The Harder They Come for my old podcast, Cult Movies. It was not at all what I was expecting, and because of that I don't think I really cared for it. I didn't appreciate the many things I now love about the movie. I was very familiar with Jimmy Cliff's hit song, but I never really listened to the lyrics. The next time I watched it things started to click for me. The lyrics were put on screen, but I didn't quite grasp the message. This most recent rewatch, my third in four years, I saw the film for the masterpiece it is. Indie through and through; revolutionary; moving; like how the film didn't meet my (unfair) expectations the first time, this time around it moved me in an unexpected and profound way.

Ivan (Cliff) comes to Kingston, Jamaica in search of work. He bums around and eventually gets a job repairing bikes for a local parish where the priest has given him a place to live. He eventually realizes the preacher is womanizing fraud. Ivan also has dreams of being a reggae singer and begs local hotshot producer Hilton for a chance to record. Ivan gets his shot and records the titular song. Hilton offers him $20 for the track but Ivan declines and says he'll distribute it himself. He soon realizes Hilton controls every radio station and record store in town and comes crawling back for his meager $20. Ivan then falls in with a rough crowd selling drugs for Jose who runs a tight ship and demands too much money in return. Jose also pays the cops off and sends them after anyone that wrongs him. Because of his hit song, and for constantly standing up for himself and others against corruption, Ivan becomes a folk hero and goes into hiding before meeting his demise.

The Harder They Come acts as a travelog as we discover parts of Jamaica not shown on the travel brochures. Poverty is everywhere, life is extremely hard for most of the population, and director Henzell makes it his goal to show the world the real Jamaica. The film shines a spotlight on what life is really like in Jamaica. Cliff as Ivanhoe is instantly likable. Minutes after stepping off the bus, a scammer picks him out of the crowd and ends up stealing all his belongings. Ivan is the Jamaican equivalent to the “awe-shucks” country bumpkin who's just arrived in the big city. Lessons are learned the hard way but Ivan is determined. He doesn't give up, and when he gets his revenge we cheer for more. Ivan is the hero to the little guy. He wants his piece of the pie, and he's not asking for much. A living wage, clean water, a roof over his head, and he's willing to work for it.

As we enter another tumultuous election season, Ivanhoe Martin could easily be the mascot for either side. As a progressive liberal, though, I see Ivan as a person who's willing to go to extreme lengths to fight for my “side.” It seems everywhere Ivan turns he's faced with unfairness. While living at Preacher's he works alongside a man who steals Ivan's bike. Ivan uses a knife to slash the man across his face, a violent reaction, but even at this point we're empathetic towards Ivan. We understand his frustration. He's subsequently arrested and whipped. Regardless of deservedness, we see this punishment as wrong. When an entire platoon of policemen are bearing down on Ivan, we cheer Ivan on, hoping he picks each cop off so he can swim to freedom. In contrast to most films about folk heroes or anti-heroes where we know what these people are doing is wrong yet we still cheer them on, every action Ivan commits is purely for survival, and we see nothing wrong with what he's doing. The real evils surrounding Ivan are so purely evil we choose to ignore or excuse the minor infractions of Ivanhoe Martin.

With a classic and killer soundtrack, remarkable performances by mostly non-actors, and the documentary feel of Henzell's direction, The Harder They Come will continue to move up the ranks of my top movies with every rewatch going forward.