USA,
1992, 94 min
Shown in 1992
CREDITS
- dir
-
Anthony Drazan
- prod
-
Oliver Stone, Janet Yang, Jeff Dowd
- scr
-
Anthony Drazan
- cam
-
Maryse Alberti
- editor
-
Elizabeth King
- cast
-
Ray Sharkey, Michael Rapaport, N’Bushe Wright, Deshonn Castle, Kevin Corrigan
- source
-
Ixtlan
-
COMMENTS
Anthony Drazan in person.
OTHER
Zebrahead is the fragile, complex story of a racially mixed group of high school students who are struggling with their relationships, their idealism and their sense of family, tribe and community. Zack is 17, white and Jewish. He is also immersed in African American music and culture. He walks the walk and talks the talk in large part due to the influence of two people: his father, a hip, ratty record store owner who understands all too well the difference between love and sex, and Zack's best friend, Dee, both of whom act as bridges between people and cultures. When Dee's attractive cousin, Nikki, moves into their tough black neighborhood, the sparks begin to fly. And there to stand in the afterglow is Nut, a troubled young man with a big mouth and a heart full of anger. Zebrahead explores relationships well beneath the surface. These are well-rounded characters doing a dance around each other and their feelings. The gritty street language—words that slide off the tongue and burn in the brain—is completely realistic and the compelling Taj Mahal soundtrack adds texture to the film. Full of small truths and revelations, Zebrahead paints its portraits in gray instead of simple black and white. In Zebrahead love turns out to be a horse of a different color.
—Lawrence Smith, Sundance Film Festival
FACTOID #4
2006 New Italian Cinema tributee Marco Belocchio’s debut film Fists in the Pocket screened at the Tenth San Francisco International Film Festival in 1966.
