Oracabessa (2019)

While on a redemptive journey to find a missing 6 year old boy, a female grad student crosses path with ruthless human traffickers.

Director:

Richard A. Nelson

Writers:

Richard A. Nelson (story), Richard A. Nelson

Stars:

Brooklyn Sabino Smith, Maya Sayre, Ralph Scott

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brooklyn Sabino Smith	...	Oracabessa
Maya Sayre	...	Alice Reinhart
Ralph Scott	...	Tuco
Phillip S. Wilson	...	Jean-Pierre Legat
Jeff Cunningham	...	FBI #1
Franklin Grace	...	Bertrand
Kristina Kopf	...	Peggy
Benjamin Jeff	...	Lincoln (as Jeff Benjamin)
Kenyatta Foster	...	Derrick
Jim Foreman	...	McKenzie
Ashley-Anne Henderson	...	Rachel Cohen
Clint Elmore	...	FBI #2
Marvin Green	...	Party Goer #5
Mason Pryor	...	Reuben Cohen
Aaron Geib	...	Nicolas

Storyline

While on a redemptive journey to find a missing 6 year old boy, a female grad student crosses path with ruthless human traffickers.

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Plot Keywords:

woman wears a man's shirt | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Quotes

Tuco: It ain't fittin' being called a gentleman when you're a scoundrel. At least that's what my dad would say, and believe me, he would know!

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Connections

References À bout de souffle (1960)

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Soundtracks

There Are No Heroes
Original Song:
Music arranged and performed by Jimmy McGee

User Reviews

A smart contemporary thriller with social awareness.

"A man and a woman in any kind of relationship are always at war. It's just a matter of, to what degree." Oracabessa (Brooklyn Sabino Smith)

Although writer/director Richard A. Nelson's progressively harrowing drama, Oracabessa, is on the surface about human trafficking, it is more about suffering through love and loss, the search for permanence in a turbulent and evil world, and gender war, as the quote above affirms. In some ways, this story bears resemblance to his more figurative earlier work, The Endangered (2008), in which troubled mixed races and violence are companions in a dangerous journey through the forest of life.

The titular heroine of the fascinating Oracabessa is the spirit who holds together the parts of loving turmoil. She pursues her music and her righteousness in the face of evil with a quiet perseverance. She gives a natural performance that promises a bright career if she seeks it. Some of the other actors in this thriller are local Columbus, Ohio, artists as comfortable on screen as on the stage. Good casting (Kristina Kopf).

Columbus itself never looked better (Nelson).

Nick (Aaron Geib) and Derrick (Kenyatta Foster) are continually battling for Oracabessa's love while she has to spend too much time conciliating between them rather than seeking out the traffickers. She has seen enough abduction to be able to search, but her domestic struggles, from boyfriends to dad, so dominate it is easy to conclude that the violence each does to the other on a daily basis distracts from life's bigger purpose of loving and protecting one's neighbor.

Nelson has a different approach from The Endangered—He attacks the evil, trafficking, in the form of a thriller with a bright heroine to carry out the retributions. Oracabasse may be less figurative, but it has the aura of a rich contemporary cautionary tale: Don't walk alone and watch for the evildoers among those closest to you. Cynical? Maybe. Real? I'm afraid so.

Such is the ambivalent quest for the good and the beautiful with ever present evil: "Romantic love has to have a practical element to it. If it's unrequited or stops working, then you just kill it and move on." Jerry McNair (Dino Trapodis)

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

24 September 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Constraint

Filming Locations:

Columbus, Ohio, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min (cut)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1