Indie Film "Where There is Love, There is No Darkness" Shines
Stevan Lee Mraovitch’s film is a beautiful tribute to family, found family, and the lengths people will go to support their loved ones.

17-year old Eli moves with his family to the isolated farm of reclusive Waylon, a man whose dark past threatens to overtake him. Eli’s family works to restore the desolate fields, while he becomes fascinated with the forests. While on the farm, Eli meets the mysterious Amanda when she gives him an apple. The next day she extracts a promise from him to avoid the deep woods. Reeling from a violent encounter with his father, one night he breaks this promise and finds her body hanging from a tree.
Stevan Lee Mraovitch’s film is a beautiful tribute to family, found family, and the lengths people will go to support their loved ones.
If you are a discerning movie watcher and/or an African-American with a modicum of Black consciousness, this film isn’t for you. It would be better to watch the documentary ‘They Fight’ to see the impactful, emotional story of Walter Manigan and the young men of DC’s Ward 8.
For the entirety of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Marion remains in full control of both her body and her personality, a rarity for female characters at the time of the film’s release. She’s granted depth with personal demons from her past and emotional vulnerability when the situation deems it appropriate for her to grow alongside Indy. She avidly rejects the notion of being anything other than a sassy, humane rebel, and Indy’s equal in every way. This she does while still maintaining her femininity.
While it is more than established that Halston’s life is far from a fairytale, the narrative suffers as a result of the decision to revolve more around sex and drugs than his artistry, it likely does a disservice to his cultural impact by pulling focus from his achievements.
Escape The Field is a serviceable horror thriller. The characters are easier to remember as horror character tropes. As I wrote this review, I only remembered the characters by their tropes: #FinalGirl, #Everyman, #Badass, #MeanB*/SexyGirl, #Realist/BlackLesbian, and #TheNerd.
I hope that more people will see Joyland, understand the situation, and eventually change themselves and society so we can have a more accommodating world where everyday tragedies like the one depicted in the film do not occur.