Movies That Matter Discussion: "A Jazzman's Blues"

Join Edward McNulty, editor and film reviewer at Visual Parables, and Ken Bedell, founder of Ending Racism USA, for a lively and thoughtful discussion of movies that matter.

When screenwriters and directors address subjects like racism, they may help us see reality and discover something about ourselves. Movie discussions are a good environment to learn from others and test our experiences and understandings.

These discussions are intended for anyone who wants to explore racism as it exists and consider – with others – the implications for our lives. Diversity of backgrounds and experiences will enrich the discussions.

Please plan to watch each movie before joining the online discussion. Resources for each film/movie will be provided. Registration is free and required.

January 3, 2023: “A Jazzman's Blues”

A tale of forbidden love and family drama unravels 40 years of secrets and lies in the deep south. Two teens, Bayou and Leanne, fall in love but are separated due to the disapproval of Leanne's family. Years later, they meet again but find that their circumstances have changed. Leanne is married to a sheriff's brother and passing as white, while Bayou helps his mother run a successful juke joint.

When Leanne's mother catches them together again, she lies to the sheriff, claiming that Bayou had whistled at Leanne. To escape the mob coming to lynch him, Bayou is whisked off with his brother, Willie Earl, and brother's manager, Ira, to Chicago where he becomes an unexpected hit at the Capital Royale club. Despite his success, he is unable to forget Leanne and when he hears she's given birth to a baby, he plans a one-night return to his mother's juke joint to rescue her.

Under the guise of returning to help revive his mother's juke joint, Bayou makes his way back to Georgia. Willie Earl, jealous of his brother's success, tips off the sheriff that Bayou is back in town. Bayou is reunited with Leanne and their baby, but a mob lynches Bayou.

In 1987, Bayou's now elderly mother, Hattie May, goes to seek justice after forty years, handing Bayou's extensive letters to his unwitting son. Reading them through, he realizes that his mother, Leanne, has been keeping his lineage a secret for all of these years. He is left to reckon with the truth of his birth.

Review and discussion guide for “A Jazzman's Blues” by Edward McNulty (PDF)