Bless Their Little Hearts

Based on the Charles Burnett’s script, Bless Their Little Hearts is the first independent feature film by the filmmaker Billy Woodberry. With a tender neorealism, the movie follows the wanderings of Charlie Banks in his search for work - a frustrating task which triggers tension within his 3-children family and his marriage to Andais, who is progressively disheartened and suspicious of her husband. The close circle of Charlie keeps trying to help him, but he remains helpless and absent from his kids’ lifes. Such exhaustion culminates in the direct confrontation with his wife, recorded in an intense one-shot sequence where doubts about mutual survival and betrayal seem to find no resolution.

Despite its dramatic chiaroescuro, Bless Their Little Hearts holds a humanist sensibility in its social portrayal. It stands as a chronicle for the devastating effect of underemployment in the heart of african-american families experiencing racial segregation around Los Angeles, and a masterpiece in the cinematic movement LA Rebellion.