About Soldat noir (Black Soldier)
by Léo Soesanto
"I’m a man. But if you think I’m a nigger, it means you need it." James Baldwin’s words resonate throughout Soldat noir (Black Soldier). Resonating in 1986 France - depicted in the film - today, tomorrow and in Hughes’ mind. Hughes can put up with racism and preconceptions, with his wit and his fists. Jimmy Laporal-Tresor tackles the violence of these issues head-on and with grace: with American efficiency and sensitivity for language, he choreographs a series of inner and street fights, the toughest of which is, naturally, the one Hughes has with himself.
