Sonja Sohn in Slam (1998)

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Slam (1998) is an Indie, co-authored by the principle cast. It is set in the Washington DC inner city. Saul Williams plays Ray Joshua, small time marijuana dealer and talented "slammer." (Slamming is a half rap half poetry performance art).

When his best friend is shot shortly after handing him half a lid, he runs, and is arrested and held on possession. He is told that he has three choices: he can cop a plea and get two years, take his chances in court and probably get 10 years, or rat out his friends and get off.

None of the three appeal to him. During a very eventful few days in jail, he meets an English teacher named Lauren Bell who works with prisoners (Sonja Sohn), is nearly killed by rival gangs, and discovers that there is another way to deal with the violence, poverty and unrest around him with his art, and that true freedom is something you have inside you, not something under the control of others.

A fellow prisoner arranges bail for him, and he convinces his shot friend, who survived, that retaliation for the shooting is not the answer, and actually plays into the establishments hands. He then finds and beds Sonja. Sonja is very hot in the sex scene, mainly due to facial expression.

The rest of the film concerns Ray's relationship with Sonja, and how he struggles to face his upcoming court date. Much of the cast was amateur, and included real poets, but both Sonja and Williams were very strong.

The "Slamming" was powerful and expressive, and the camera work was top notch, using a perfect mix of static shots and hand held, and included many more artistic shots than you would expect in a film about the inner city.

I give it somewhere between three and three and 1/2 stars. It was a very pleasant surprise visually, the performances were far better than I expected, and they managed to present a good picture of ghetto life and the prison experience without being too depressing.

The film won numerous awards including Sundance and Cannes.

Nudity Report: Sonja shows glimpses of breasts during the one sex scene, and pokes through a white t-shirt for over half the film. She has been getting steady work since her appearance in this film.

Critics Vote: The critics can't agree. Roger Ebert says 2 1/2, Berardinelli says 3, and Leonard Maltin awards 3 1/2. Apollo says 88/100, and Apollo readers give a whopping 90/100.

IMDB Summary: 7.2 out of 10.

Box Office: Made for $1m, it grossed just under that in theatrical release.

Written by:Tuna ...courtesy of Scoopy.net