'The Harder They Come' was a giant hit on the early "midnight movie" circuit of the 1970's and is still considered the most influential Jamaican made movie of all time. Jimmy Cliff plays Ivanhoe Martin, a young man who has just moved back to the city, he had been living in the country with his grandmother but she died and her home had to be sold to pay final expenses.
Ivan is a likable guy, though kind of lazy and possessing an inflated sense of entitlement. With few skills other then singing and being in a poor country with a depressed economy he has a hard time finding work. He gets a position doing odd jobs for a local preacher but seduces his young ward (the charming Janet Bartley) and gets both of them thrown out.
His persistence eventually persuades a local producer to let him record a song, but Ivan gets screwed over as regards royalties. Desperate an old friend gets him a job with the local drug syndicate, things improve but dissatisfied with his small share of the earnings he starts bugging his superiors for more. In league with local authorities the syndicate decides to have Ivan arrested to teach him a lesson, only he kills the cop who tries to arrest him.
Now on the run Ivan decides he dosn't have anything to lose and embarks on a revenge killing spree, becoming a local folk hero and propelling his all but forgotten single 'The Harder They Come' into a giant hit. As his situation deteriorates allies make plans to smuggle him to Cuba, but as the saying and song goes "the harder they come, the harder they fall."
The film dances around through a number of genres and does them all well, a consistently engaging picture that is also a compelling portarate of Jamaican life roughly a decade post colonialism. I was aware of its reputation yet still surprised by how good this was. ***1/2
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