7.3/10
7,769
213 user 37 critic

Eve's Bayou (1997)

R | | Drama | 7 November 1997 (USA)
Trailer
0:31 | Trailer

On Disc

at Amazon

After a daughter witnesses her father having an affair, she begins a chain reaction that could tear her family apart.

Director:

Kasi Lemmons

Writer:

Kasi Lemmons
12 wins & 17 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

More Like This 

The Josephine Baker Story (TV Movie 1991)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Born poor in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker achieved fame and fortune through her sizzlingly exotic, erotic performances. Starting life on the American Vaudeville circuit, success ... See full summary »

Director: Brian Gibson
Stars: Lynn Whitfield, Rubén Blades, David Dukes
Talk to Me (2007)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.

Director: Kasi Lemmons
Stars: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bruce McFee
Biography | Drama | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

This biography of Dorothy Dandridge follows her career through early days on the club circuit with her sister to her turn in movies, including becoming the first black actress to win a Best... See full summary »

Director: Martha Coolidge
Stars: Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Klaus Maria Brandauer
Losing Isaiah (1995)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

The natural and adoptive mothers of a young boy are involved in a bitter, controversial custody battle.

Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
Stars: Jessica Lange, Halle Berry, David Strathairn
The Wedding (TV Movie 1998)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

In 1950s Massachusetts, a wealthy black woman engaged to a poor white beatnik learns about her family history. The stories revolve around the racial and class complexities of interracial and class-based marriages.

Director: Charles Burnett
Stars: Halle Berry, Eric Thal, Lynn Whitfield
Biography | Drama | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

Three women each claim to be the widow of 1950s doo-wop singer Frankie Lymon, claiming legal rights to his estate.

Director: Gregory Nava
Stars: Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon
Crime | Drama | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

A cave-dwelling man sets out to track down the killer of a homeless boy, and bring him to justice.

Director: Kasi Lemmons
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Ann Magnuson
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jurnee Smollett-Bell ... Eve Batiste (as Jurnee Smollett)
Meagan Good ... Cisely Batiste
Lynn Whitfield ... Roz Batiste
Samuel L. Jackson ... Louis Batiste
Debbi Morgan ... Mozelle Batiste Delacroix
Jake Smollett Jake Smollett ... Poe Batiste
Ethel Ayler ... Gran Mere
Diahann Carroll ... Elzora
Vondie Curtis-Hall ... Julian Grayraven
Roger Guenveur Smith ... Lenny Mereaux
Lisa Nicole Carson ... Matty Mereaux
Branford Marsalis ... Harry
Afonda Colbert Afonda Colbert ... Henrietta
Lola Dalferes Lola Dalferes ... Lynette
Marcus Lyle Brown ... Hosea
Edit

Storyline

The story is set in 1962 Louisiana. The Batiste family is headed by charming doctor Louis. Though he is married to beautiful Roz, he has a weakness for attractive female patients. One night Louis trysts with married and sexy Metty Mereaux, not knowing that he is observed by his youngest daughter Eve, who is there by accident. Eve can not forget the traumatic incident and shares a secret with older sister Cisely. Lies start to roll... Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The secrets that hold us together can also tear us apart.

Genres:

Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1997 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Le secret du bayou See more »

Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,287,846, 9 November 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,821,531, 8 March 1998
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jurnee Smollett (Eve Batiste) and Jake Smollett Poe Batiste) are brother and sister in real-life. See more »

Goofs

The Batiste family is happy to learn that the boy who got hit by a bus was not one of the Batiste children. When Mrs Batiste tells Eve to go upstairs and tell her sister, Cisely, that they can all go outside, a boom mic is visible at the top of the frame. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others imprinted indelibly on the brain. The summer I killed my father I was 10 years old. My brother Poe was 9, and my sister Cisely has just turned 14.
Narrator: The town we lived in was named after a slave. It was said that when General John Paul Batiste was stricken with cholera, his life was saved by the powerful medicine of an African slave woman called Eve. In return for his life, he freed her, and gave her this piece of land by the Bayou...
See more »


Soundtracks

I Pretend I'm Loving You
Written by Buddy Scott & Jimmy Radcliffe
Published by Universal Music Publishing
Performed by Jimmy Radcliffe
Licensed courtesy of Chris Radcliffe
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more »

User Reviews

 
Stunning Imagery, Haunting Beauty
23 September 2001 | by SinnermanSee all my reviews

"MEMORY IS A SELECTION OF IMAGES, SOME ELUSIVE, OTHERS PRINTED INDELIBLY ON THE BRAIN. THE SUMMER I KILLED MY FATHER, I WAS 10 YEARS OLD"

With those shocking opening frames from the movie, 'Eve's Bayou'(1997), I was hooked from start go.

'Eve's Bayou' is an anomaly. It has achieved a rare distinction of excellence in all departments of film making; from the direction to the writing, from the acting to the cinematography.

Here was a film not content with telling a tale of nostalgic retrospection. Instead, it shocked the senses of the unsuspecting viewers with an eerie collage of imagery, underscoring the chilling suspense with an undercurrent of tumultuous emotion (jealousy, loss and sadness; anger, vengeance and guilt) all culminating into the inevitable foreshadowed tragedy.

But of course, this is far too distinguished a film to present an easy resolution. From there spring forth the painful revelation on the very essence of memory and the perception of truth, distilled and faceted with the passage of time. A valuable lesson indeed.

Poetic and shadowy, the dream-like moods sustained throughout this poignant film is its over-riding strength. For here was a film which sights and sound has transcended the mere plot convention of its humble genre origins. Thankfully, the film turned out the better for it. Coupled with the celebrated fact that this was the product of a first time director(Kasi Lemmons), one can't help but feel the divine intervention bestowed upon this film to make it such an magically entrancing experience.

Alongside 'Shawshank Redemption' and 'The Sweet Hereafter', 'Eve's Bayou' certainly ranks as one of the most hauntingly beautiful piece of cinema ever committed to film.


25 of 27 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 213 user reviews »

Contribute to This Page



Recently Viewed