The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Originally made for TV, this fictional recounting of the 110 years lived by one one black woman in Louisiana has a deceptively natural ring to it: what better way to reflect the range of American black experience? What greater challenge than limiting that experience to the life of one woman (ranging from Civil War to Civil Rights Movement), which has to serve as history, myth, personal story, commentary and newsreel all at once? Aiming for the stars, the film hits a magazine spread by Norman Rockwell, and obstinately stays there: a respectable enough achievement in its way, but one that ultimately dims the mind as it stirs up the emotions.