''Brooklyn Babylon'' is a 2001 film written and directed by
Marc Levin
Marc Levin is an American independent film producer and director. He is best known for his ''Brick City (TV series), Brick City'' TV series, which won the 2010 Peabody award and was nominated for an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Fil ...
, and a modern retelling of the
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, it is erotic poe ...
, set against the backdrop of the
Crown Heights riot, starring
Black Thought
Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead Emcee (hip hop), MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regar ...
of
The Roots
The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...
.
Plot summary
In
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
's
Crown Heights, where
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...
Rastafarians
Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...
and other Blacks live next door to the
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...
community, ethnic tensions are high. After a minor car crash, the headstrong Judah and other Jewish men who patrol the neighborhood as vigilantes confront Scratch, a mouthy hustler. Passengers in the cars make eye contact: Sol, a hip-hop musician, songwriter, and artist (Scratch's friend), and Sara, who is betrothed to Judah but wants to go to college and be on her own. Over the next few days, while Scratch and Judah's conflict escalates in violence, Sara and Sol connect in ways that echo
Sheba
Sheba, or Saba, was an ancient South Arabian kingdoms in pre-Islamic Arabia, South Arabian kingdom that existed in Yemen (region), Yemen from to . Its inhabitants were the Sabaeans, who, as a people, were indissociable from the kingdom itself f ...
and
Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
.
Production
Brooklyn Babylon was the second-made of Levin's late nineties
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
trilogy, which began with ''
Slam'', a searing prison drama starring
Saul Williams
Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam ( ...
,
Sonja Sohn and
Bonz Malone. The third installment was 2000's ''
Whiteboyz'', a black comedy about white farm kids in
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
who want to be black rappers, and starred
Danny Hoch,
Dash Mihok
Dashiell Raymond Mihok (; born May 24, 1974) is an American actor and director known as Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in Showtime's ''Ray Donovan''.
Early life
Mihok was born in New York City, the son of theater actors Andrea Mihok (née Cloak) and ...
,
Mark Webber and
Piper Perabo
Piper Lisa Perabo ( ; born October 31, 1976) is an American actress. Following her breakthrough in the comedy-drama film '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), she starred in ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), its sequel '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), '' ...
.
Cast
*
Tariq Trotter as Solomon, Member of The Lions
*
Karen Starc as Sara (as Karen Goberman)
*
Bonz Malone as Scratch
*
David Vadim as Judah
*
Carol Woods as Cislyn
*
Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. His songs " The Show" and ...
as Buddah
*
Mad Cobra as Key Bouncer
*
Mina Bern as Nanna
*
Joanne Baron as Aunt Rose
*
Olek Krupa as Uncle Vlad
Roots
A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients.
Root or roots may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...
members
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson,
James "Kamal" Gray,
Leonard "Hub" Hubbard and
Kyle "Scratch" Jones played other members of The Lions, and Roots
beatbox artist
Rahzel
Rozell Manely Brown (born October 6, 1964) is an American beatboxer and rapper, formerly a member of the Roots.
Rahzel is known for an ability to sing or rap while simultaneously beatboxing, as evidenced in his performances of "Iron Man" and h ...
served as the film's narrator.
Festivals
The film was entered in the
Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...
,
Valenciennes Film Festival, and
Agen American Indie Film Festival.
Marc Levin was nominated for the Grand Special Prize at the
Deauville Film Festival
The Deauville American Film Festival () is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France.
It was established by Lionel Chouchan, André Halimi, and then Mayor of Deauville Michel d ...
.
Reception
''Brooklyn Babylon'' received mixed reviews by critics, earning a 50% "Fresh" rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
and a score of 26 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{The Roots
2001 films
American drama films
2000s English-language films
Films directed by Marc Levin
Films set in Brooklyn
Films based on the Hebrew Bible
2000s hip-hop films
Films based on multiple works
2000s American films
BAC Films films
English-language musical films
2001 musical films