'Zola' is a Modern Black Fairytale
It’s fun, it’s energetic, but it’s also understated and vicarial. Zola is a modern black fairytale and future of black movies.

Steel worker Jason lives in a remote town in the midlands. He has been sporadically awaking at 03:47. Sleep deprived and suffering from insomnia he wlaks the lonely streets at night trying to pass the time until his early morning shift. One night, he encounters an unnerving teenager who begins screaming for help. Jason’s boss is frustrated and feels he is a liability. The teenager is starts to appear at Jason’s work. Again, Jason awakes at 03:47 and sees the teenager floors below staring into his window. He tries to find the kid but he is gone. The next day Jason, who is now a walking zombie, has an accident with a saw. His boss Graham sends him home. That night, Jason lays in wait for 03:47 to come. He then goes out determined to confront this teenager. The teenager startles Jason. Jason becomes entranced and follows the teenager deep down into the woods. Here the teenagers skeletal remains lay dormant in a crashed 1960’s car. The teenager vanishes. Now Jason can finally sleep.
It’s fun, it’s energetic, but it’s also understated and vicarial. Zola is a modern black fairytale and future of black movies.
So do I recommend that people see this movie, yes 100%, but do I think they are going to come out of it with 80 hot takes, yes 100%.
The assassins in Bullet Train are quirky, deadly, and diverse. Yet, they all seem to be some type of caricature. While the movie is fun and action-packed, it’s also packed with stereotypes that don’t make for the best representation.
It doesn’t offer an absolute answer for the dialectical ethical questions that emerged in search of justice but portrays the characters as living people beyond the identities of victims.
It’s passionately protective of the women mentioned in the story or appearing on screen. Just like the article and the #MeToo movement, the film could help a trapped person find the courage to fight back.
Of the 28 total films I watched, just six of them were queer or featured queer characters in some way.