Johnny Cash

My Father and The Man in Black (Part 2 – Review)

/ riainthecity / 19 Comments

Jonathan Holiff said, ‘The movie has a star attached to it and thus it may have an appeal for movie goers.’ Well that holds true but you will find that the movie has more of an appeal because it is about you and me. It is a story so true to life that all of us can relate to it. 

My Father and The Man in Black

Director/Writer: Jonathan Holiff

Actors: Jonathan Holiff, Joshua Robinson, Saul Holiff

Duration: 90 mins

Genre: Documentary

My Father and The Man in Black: the phrase ‘The Man in Black’ holds a special significance for Johnny Cash fans, for we know that the man, the legendary man in black, always donned black. Hence, when I first heard the name of this particular film, I hoped and prayed that it will be about him and that I, as a fan, would take home some little known facts about Johnny Cash. After all, Jonathan Holiff is the son of Saul Holiff, Johnny Cash’s manager from 1960 to 1973, so he must have access to some awesome stuff about Johnny Cash, right?

Right. He did.

But I got to take home a lot more than what I had hoped for, in a good way of course.

What Jonathan has in store for us, is a universal story of parent child misunderstandings and one man’s journey to make amends with his father, beyond the grave.

I was rooted to my seat from the very first scene (you will have to see the movie to find out what it is! 😉 ) and I was genuinely disappointed when the film ended and the credits began to roll. I wish it had been longer! Reason being that the direction and story telling skills were incredible and I felt as if I was living and breathing alongside Saul Holiff and Johnny Cash and I didn’t want the dream to end!

The film also explores the relationship between Saul Holiff and Johnny Cash,to a certain extent, but the focus is on Jonathan Holiff and Saul Holiff’s relationship. However, Johnny Cash fans are in for a treat; the film has original audio recordings of conversations between Saul Holiff and Johnny Cash! (Do I hear cheering?)

A word of advice: keep some tissue paper handy when you watch the film because you are in for a roller coaster ride! One minute you will be tapping your feet to an awesome selection of tunes (Think Ring of Fire!) by Johnny Cash and the next you will be holding your breath to find out what happened between Jonathon and Saul.

The movie is suitable for all ages, is a visual and audio treat and promises to leave you with wanting more!

Disclaimer: I have not done a movie review for a movie I have loved this much, so please pardon my incoherence. I give it 4 thumbs up, hands and feet included!

P.S: Clicking on Jonathan Holiff’s name will take you to his IMDB page. For the film’s Facebook page click here and you can follow Jonathan Holiff on twitter @Holifffame

This goes out to all the dads! – My Father and The Man in Black (Part 1 – Teaser)

/ riainthecity / 25 Comments

Starting a blog post can sometime be the hardest part and then verbal diarrhea just takes over...

Becoming a father isn’t difficult, but it’s very difficult to be a father. – Wilhelm Busch

I have often heard the aforementioned saying but my dad has always made fatherhood look very easy! One might wonder why I didn’t do this post prior to Father’s Day and honestly I don’t really have an excuse for that except for the fact that I don’t think there needs to be a special day to make our fathers feel special and that every day can be used to do that!

My dad is a wonderful human being. He is kind, understanding, loving, patient and he always says the nicest things but not all fathers are like that and I know cause I have met quite a few. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that they don’t love their children but circumstances are such that they either don’t have the time or are not able to express it and that’s just incredibly sad!

Growing up, my dad often wished, and he has told me so, that his father would spend more time with him, perhaps just for a day but alas that never happened. Not because grandpa didn’t want to but due to the fact that he was always rather busy and time just flew by as it always does. Dad isn’t bitter but it leaves a void and leads to a vicious cycle, a cycle that is often hard to break.

Perhaps this is the reason that when I got to watch director Jonathan Holiff’s My Father and The Man in Black during NXNE, it hit right home.

I’ll be honest I didn’t intend on catching this particular film, I had a midterm the day before and all I was thinking was… ‘what are the symptoms of schizophrenia?’… ‘Can shaping be used as a behavior modification strategy for people who have lost the ability to speak?’ and the likes of that!

It was by chance that NXNE had organized a conversational showcase with Jonathan Holiff and I just happened to be in the same room as the wonderfully talented director! A friend of mine told me that we should attend this particular session and basically all he had to say was that the film involves Johnny Cash and I was like, ‘HECK YES! Let’s go!’ and the rest, as they say, is history!

I want to do a review of the movie and I will but for now I will leave you with a trailer of the movie and I will let you be the judge before I say anything about it!

Pssst, there is an interview as well! Stay tuned!

P.S: Let me know what you guys think of the trailer and all the Johnny Cash fans in the house say AYE!