Dancehall Queen

6.8
1997 1 hr 38 min Drama

Street vendor Marcia is scraping together a living in the ghetto section of Kingston, Jamaica. Her young daughter is being hounded by a rich sugar daddy who has been supporting the family; her brother's life is being threatened by a local thug. So, when the licentious patron threatens to abandon the family, and her brother breaks down under pressure, Marcia hits bottom. She needs to escape to a haven where she can get lost in fantasy; Marcia, don in sex-me-up clothing and outrageous glamour, finds refuge in the beats of the very dance hall outside of which she normally vends.

  • Cast:
    Henry Brown

Reviews

ChikPapa
1997/10/10

Very disappointed :(

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BelSports
1997/10/11

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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Janae Milner
1997/10/12

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

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Lachlan Coulson
1997/10/13

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

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winnie poo56
1997/10/14

This is a heartwarming story. So often we watch stories about cultures we would never entertain being a part of but somewhere in the meat of the story we are drawn in. this story takes place in a Jamaican ghetto and shows us that even in the brash vivid stroked lives of those who live hand to mouth everyday there exists poetic justice and the charm of the unaffected life. The characters were believable and passionate.I cried and laughed and commiserated with Marcia and her family and yes, found myself wishing that I too could have been there if only for a day. I loved the music and was surprised to find so much variety in dancehall music such as Chaka Demus' song "whats the move" and Beeniemans song "dancehall queen".

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metorahtid-1
1997/10/15

I think the movie showed a side of Jamaica that often goes unnoticed in the tourism adds. I really liked Marcia, there was something real about her character. I also enjoyed the daughter, Tanya. She had spunk, and was a little more understandable.Paul Campbel is excellent in his role as Priest. The dialect was fun for me.. and if you watched the film on DVD you could use the subtitles as Jamaican Patios 101 (smile). The story is real however. I find that majority of the Jamaicans i meet who are working class or from a less affluent side of town love the film...The same doesn't always hold true from others though. Well if you want to be entertained...i think this is a very very entertaining movie and it showcases the darker side of Jamaica...while taking you into the "real dancehall".A definite must see

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Fleppie
1997/10/16

This is a good story about how a person can rise up and make something of him/herself.The backdrop of Jamaican culture is brought to life quite nicely and I very much like the cultural influence be it they are pretty subtle. Being from the Caribbean myself, I can very much identify with much of the non-western cultural issues which aren't in-your-face obvious, but are definitely there. It might be handy to turn on subtitles because the accent will be very hard to understand if you have not been into contact with the Jamaican dialect much. The acting is pretty good, with my personal favorite being that of Rude-boy :) Don't expect an extremely good or complex plot, but it is a nice movie to watch.Moral of the movie: You can be or become anything or anyone if you have a spec of talent and put hard work into it. (Which basically is the embodiment of the American dream right?)

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Devans00
1997/10/17

I often found the accents hard to understand. I could understand the "educated" daughter better than the street vendor mother. But the expressiveness and good acting of the star helped me out. I also enjoyed seeing a view onto a culture I wasn't familiar with. Funny how some things are universal, though. (Shady men taking advantage of poor women)The ending was poetic justice.

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