All you have to do is walk through any major urban city and notice that gentrification has taken hold. Down here in Washington DC hoods deemed war zones now reflect an almost oasis with multiple craft beer shops and dog parks. While gentrification is good for commerce, crime, and the overall quality of life of a city, it also in part erases the culture of the city, specifically the diverse population that previously existed there, most of them for generations. Pop culture also has been addressing gentrification in drama films recently, mostly from the African-American point of view. But recently, Hollywood also has been giving a different perspective on how gentrification impacts immigrant communities. This year Know Your Place examined the city of Seattle from its Ethiopian community (great film), and now director Monica Sorelle in her directorial debut examines gentrification in the “Little Haiti” community of Miami in her directorial debut Mountains.
Mountains follows Xavier (Atibon Nazaire). Every morning, he wakes up to his wife Esperance (Sheila Anozier), they enjoy a nice breakfast (sometimes they see their Americanized son Junior (Chris Renois), and goes to his construction job while Esperance goes to her job as a school crossing guard. While they are working-class immigrants living the American dream of working hard to provide for their family, Xavier also starts to feel some kind of way. His job is demolishing homes that have existed for generations to make room for new developments and luxury homes that he nor his neighbors can afford.
While Xavier’s still connected to his Haitian roots (he listens to a Haitian radio station every day he goes to work to keep up with everything going on back home, he has no desire to go home because of the turmoil at home and he’s made a life for himself in Little Hati. But slowly but surely, he starts to feel like he’s a part of the problem. But what can he do? He has to make a living to provide for his family.
Speaking of his family, Xavier and Esperance are frustrated with Junior. He recently dropped out of college to pursue a career as a stand-up comic. Mountains works well by displaying the disconnect some immigrant families have with their children, who were basically engrained with mainstream American (in Mountains specifically: African American) culture. Junior comes into the house rapping mumble rap to himself, he never has “time” to eat with his family despite his mother working hard in the kitchen for hours, because he’d rather hang out with his friends.
There is a moment in Mountains where Xavier wants to get in on this gentrification and purchase one of those luxury homes. He and his wife go to an open house and notice everyone coming to look at the home to buy is decisively white. The only person there who is Haitian is the woman showing the house, and she’s not even the realtor, she’s the realtor’s assistant who tasks her with showing the house because she’s “too busy with other properties.” Even in that small moment of the film, Mountains shows the racial dynamics that are changing throughout the city. Another example is when on the construction site, the foreman’s son drops the n-word with impunity and Xavier has to try and stop another Haitian immigrant from caving that guy’s face in. As much as Mountains explores race, it also does a masterful job of exploring class.
Filmed almost entirely in Creole with English subtitles, Mountains makes the audience “feel” like they are a part of the community. The cinematography makes you feel as though you are a part of this lived-in community and every time you see a mom & pop store have a “for sale” sign while navigating Little Haiti, you can’t help but feel a little sad as you know it’s going to be a CVS or a Walgreens sooner or later. Mountains shows the resilience of a family and community that knows it’s probably dying. A colorful family party, or a Haitian parade is full of colors and love for the community, and that’s one of the key takeaways from the film: Little Haiti might have its back against the wall, but they will be their authentic selves and proud of the heritage and they are still here!
Mountains is now playing in select cities.
