'The Harder They Fall': This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Spaghetti Western
In Jeymes Samuel's history-infused, neo-spaghetti western, Black women are center stage with a fresh hip hop mixtape keeping rhythm in the backdrop.

March 2020. Véra makes a quick trip to Paris to feed a friend’s fish and water her plants while she’s hospitalized with a mild case of Covid. France is already abuzz with rumors of the spreading virus. But instead of hopping on a train back to Montpellier, as planned, she impulsively lies to her fiancé and says all trains have been canceled and she’s stuck in Paris… just as everyone else is hightailing it out of the city and the entire country goes into lockdown. So Véra holes up in her friend’s apartment, relieved to have a bit of quiet time to herself. Then she crosses paths with Sam — a chance meeting that changes her life.
In Jeymes Samuel's history-infused, neo-spaghetti western, Black women are center stage with a fresh hip hop mixtape keeping rhythm in the backdrop.
I understand that this would have been consistent with the language used by that generation, due to its role in the medical profession, however as someone who has family members with Down Syndrome I took it very personally.
Zombie apocalypses have been metaphors for late-stage predatory capitalism, but never a system disrupter that brings about freedom.
Unfortunately, People We Meet on Vacation didn’t hold up quite as well as I’d hoped.
The most impressive aspect of this film is the honest and natural performances given by the on-screen duo.
There’s been a longstanding criticism of sci-fi films about its lack of Black characters. For the past few years, Anthony Mackie has been successfully representing Black masculinity in the otherwise homogenous genre and I am here for it.