When credits rolled on a tear-filled watch of Origin, I sat there quiet for a moment before mumbling “Well, that was a hell of a thing.” What a powerful but oddly scattershot film that makes a commanding statement.

The film is a dramatic re-enactment of how writer Isabel Wilkinson set out with a half-formed idea to write a film about Caste… as in how caste systems, more than race, are the problem with humanity. Arguably it should have been a documentary but no documentary would have this much of an emotional impact… or tie together academic, intellectual, and philosophical ideas with powerful moments from her life.

Some have found the film flawed in how it sets out to tell its story. It should have been a documentary is the argument. I agree that would make more sense but it wouldn’t have had the same impact. A documentary might move you but would probably also feel more academic. What I love about this film is that it IS intellectual… it IS academic, but its structure allows it to be a narrative fiction with a powerful emotional core.

Yes, the film wanders around a bit in time and place. We get stretches of powerful drama about the author herself… and it takes a while to see where that’s going… but it gets there in the end. The film also re-enacts the scholarly infestation of an African-American couple first in Nazi Germany and later in the American South. And the story of a young German and Jewish couple during Hitler’s rise. And the story of the Indian Caste system (which was a lot of information I did not know). These disparate stories are interwoven with each other in a way that felt right to me and each had deeply affecting scenes.

The film’s interviews and academic writing are told via the in-movie version of the writer (played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). But, really, these segments are the thinly-veiled “documentary” parts of this non-documentary. The point at which they deliver the thesis of the book and film. It’s a little apparent this is a school lesson… but it worked for me. It was a unique and interesting way to reveal intellectual pursuits.

I teared up and/or was distressed on a number of occasions. This is the kind of film that people need to see and understand… but given alternative facts and motivated reasoning, those who claim America isn’t a racist nation or who demonize THEM while circling the wagons of US wouldn’t watch it or would choose to misunderstand it.

I was kind of blown away by this flick. It was strong, powerful, intellectual, and emotional. And all the people who need to see it won’t. Sigh… ain’t that the way.

Score: 95