Freedom in Gold Dust
directed by:
Charley Williams written by: Fred MaGee genre: Documentary |
What an excellent way to go about telling this story. When you first meet Alvin Arron Coffey in “Freedom In Gold Dust,” you can see the humble, dignified, resilient spirit in his character, and you immediately trust the words he says and feel the credibility in the tale he’ll go on to tell you. It’s the arduous story of freedom, the struggle for emancipation, and the lengths that people like Mr. Coffey had to go to in order to achieve that.
I don’t know if it’s possible to not feel the weight of something like “Freedom In Gold Dust,” and to be truthful, I don’t think I’d want it any other way – we should feel empathy and emotions in watching a story like this because the history that you’ll find within it is real, and it’s also the very foundation of how slaves began to break free once and for all. Listening to stories like Alvin’s will hopefully give you pause, and make it so that the next time you freak out about something trivial that doesn’t go your way, you’ll realize that the kind of small troubles we experience today are absolutely nothing in comparison to what people once had to go through. Coffey recounts a legendary journey that’s personal but represents so much more. Through all the ups and downs he experiences along the way, you can’t help but appreciate his unbreakable spirit and how the majority of us would have been tempted to give up quickly if we were in his situation. Were it not for his persistence, and the persistence of others just like him, our society as a whole would not be in the position that it is finally in at long last, where equal rights are theoretically shared among us. I’m not gonna be the guy to tell you that we’ve righted all the wrongs of our past, or that this one story fixed all of what was broken, but I will tell you that with every journey like the one that Alvin took long ago, we were fortunate to have people just like Mr. Coffey guide us on a path towards better times. While much of this tale is heartbreaking in nature, in particular, one of the stories Coffey will recount to us brings up a powerfully moving part of “Freedom In Gold Dust,” where he recounts the details of reaching a new area known as Black Rock - and finding an ox that was only about a hundred yards from water & dying from dehydration. Now…it’s true…I’m the kind of person who’s always going to be moved by stories where animals and people are suffering…but there was something so symbolic about the way Coffey described this scenario. Like the ox had come that far in search of water and what it needed to survive, only to discover that it couldn’t make it after all. That the last, tiny fragment of such a gigantic journey couldn’t be accomplished, and death became a surety. To think of something dying so tragically while staring right at its own salvation is devastating y’all. In the back of my mind, as I watched this film, I wondered if Coffey had noticed the plight of the ox because he, too, wondered if that might be his own fate one day. At first you kind of wonder why this part of the story even comes up, but I think you really have to pay attention to all things on the inside of a short film that’s less than twenty minutes in total length. Chances are, there isn’t any wasted space at all, and everything you’ll hear truly matters. Of course, there’s a lot more to “Freedom In Gold Dust” than that one piece of the story. It’s the tale of a man who was born in 1822 and who has a long road to freedom. Alvin was sold as a slave for the first time by his former master at the young age of thirteen, and it wouldn’t be long before he’d be sold again, twenty-seven years later, to be a part of the gold rush. Of course, being black and enslaved, Mr. Coffey wouldn’t get to enjoy the profits of striking it rich, but “Freedom In Gold Dust” is a reminder that there is so much more to life than money, and in cases like this, the stakes are genuinely so much higher & the true rewards of what lies ahead can’t be counted in dollars and cents. Whether he knew it or not at the time, and regardless of whether he even had a choice in going on this journey, every step that Alvin Arron Coffey took in his life, mattered.
I really don’t think there are many of us who can say the same when it comes to how we live our lives today. Sure, we might make a difference in the lives we’re lucky enough to connect with along the way, and that’s important too – but honestly, that completely pales in comparison to what someone like Alvin had to go through in order to gain the freedom that we all take for granted today. To be even more frank with you, watching the current backsliding of civil rights down south from a safer perch in Canada, is infuriating to me – especially when considering how much an honorable man like Alvin Arron Coffey went through in order to move things in the right direction long ago. This is the story of one man’s journey, but the ripple effect of what he and many folks just like him accomplished is still felt today, and it’s absolutely crucial that we don’t let their efforts go unrecognized. The lessons a story like Coffey’s teaches us are entirely vital to understanding humanity. There’s so much going right in a short film like “Freedom In Gold Dust.” Like the best of all things, it’s often the use of simple ingredients that lead to the most extraordinary results. A film like “Freedom In Gold Dust” doesn’t need a whole bunch of fancy bells & whistles, because that’s not what this moment is calling out for – the story IS the main ingredient here, and Director Charley Williams was wise to keep it as preserved, forthright, and intact as it is. There are moments where he’ll add the occasional piece of visual imagery into what you’ll see, and I reckon there’s an argument to be made that it gives this film a little bit more authenticity in some way. Some of the things we see, like the pictures, I felt like they provided really effective supporting imagery, but the videos I probably wasn’t as convinced about, some of them were strong visuals, and others felt a little less consequential. The ultimate reality about this film, however, was that it’s the writing and performance by Fred MaGee that is the real star of the show, and any time we spend away from him generally had me immediately waiting for the moment we got back to him. That’s how real MaGee makes this moment in time, and he deserves a ton of credit for what makes “Freedom In Gold Dust” work as well as it does. Sure, there are a few pictures and videos along the way, but the vast majority of “Freedom In Gold Dust” rests squarely on his shoulders as he delivers a soliloquy throughout the distance of this entire film. Told live from the stage, uninterrupted, he does such an exceptional job of taking us into the world of Alvin Arron Coffey and highlighting all that he’d go on to accomplish through his extraordinary life. Essentially, Fred does right by Mr. Coffey by completely stepping into his character, and every second you’ll spend watching MaGee is like you’re right there, listening to Alvin recount the amazing details of his life and his historical journey to freedom. Having written “Freedom In Gold Dust” is undoubtedly an advantage for Fred, but if that’s the case, then a whole lot more actors should take a page from his playbook here - because by knowing every word in this tale inside & out, he’s able to deliver the emotion & sincerity of Alvin’s story with full conviction and confidence at all times. It’s a real treat to watch, especially if you’re the kind of person who tends to dig monologues, speeches and soliloquies, where the writing is hyper-focused, but all the details are as well. I’m going with a strong four stars out of five here. Could be higher, but certainly no lower than that. I’m absolutely impressed with the writing and the acting from MaGee, and I feel like Williams made smart decisions as a director in allowing the story itself to take the starring role. The music does enhance the emotion, but overall, “Freedom In Gold Dust” was designed to move you, and I’m confident that it will. |
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