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IMDb > Belly (1998)
Belly
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Belly (1998) -- HV post
Belly (1998) -- A pair of vicious black gangsters have spiritual awakenings.

Overview

User Rating:
4.3/10   3,407 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Hype Williams
Writers:
Anthony Bodden (story) &
Nas (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Belly on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 November 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Plot:
A pair of vicious black gangsters have spiritual awakenings. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
Brilliant more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence, language, sexuality and drug use.
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
Jamaica | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital | SDDS
Filming Locations:
Jamaica more
Company:
Big Dog Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Shameek escapes a shootout with the police by getting in a car. The driver is his fellow Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah. more
Quotes:
Roger: Without us, you go to jail. You go to jail forever. more
Movie Connections:
References The Godfather (1972) more
Soundtrack:
Two Sides more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
41 out of 50 people found the following comment useful:-
Brilliant, 6 February 2006
9/10
Author: wilsonasillson from United States

Please disregard the above review. Either the viewer likes being spoon-fed his films, or was not paying attention. Note that the viewer didn't even attempt an understanding of the title "Belly," which was the central theme of the film. The viewers others comments can stand for themselves.

In all honesty, the first time I watched this film, I actually turned the volume down -- I was enraptured by the way each scene was composed on the frame. Visually, this movie is stunning. The director has a striking style, and besides that, he is PRODIGIOUS -- there appears to be no end to the ways that he can make his compositions rich in visual entertainment and information. I can enumerate a list of techniques he used here, but that will be an exercise in boredom for today's cyber-nauts. Even more important, the compositions are never created for their own sakes, which was my initial criticism the first time I saw it -- they really do propel the film. The style is integral to the story. Get the film and you will see what I'm referring to; if you disagree, say so in your review.

80% of the film seems to be a riff on the hip-hop video aesthetic (never mind the fact that the director greatly defined the recent shape of this aesthetic) and myth. In it's third act, however, it uses the very same conventions -- outlaw figures, ostentatious style, and violence -- to confront and question these aesthetics. In the climactic ending, this criticism is embodied in the confrontation between one of the heroes of the film (DMX) and a figure symbolic of actual figures from black history. The director actually used an anachronism to face down a contemporary hero, and argues for the relic.

What the film argues for, as embodied by the final speech of the Minister character, is a message so powerful and relevant -- particularly to the very people who will associate themselves the most with this film -- that it will leave you breathless. It is a timeless message passed down from antiquity, framed by the most daring and contemporary of directors. It is an exhilarating juxtaposition.

What of the title, "Belly?" A belly is what a pregnant woman has; it is the external shape of soon-to-be-born child. It is the womb, the source of life. It is the promise of what is to be, as well as the origins of what is. If you abstract it, it's shape will be that of a circle - the symbol of wholeness, of the journey to individuation. It is the same difficult journey that the movies' anti-heroes take.

BELLY is a powerfully visual, yet simple tale about redemption. Not to be missed.

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