Precious at San Sebastian Film Festival

The line for the press screening of Precious started a half-hour before the film—it was definitely one of the must-sees of the festival, and after watching the film, I understand why.

The story of a teacher who changes the life of a student or a group of students is one that has been written again and again in Hollywood: we know the story, we know that the teacher, usually one working with underprivileged students, ends up taking as much out of it as the student and being touched by one in particular. It takes a lot for a film that I've seen in an earlier incarnation (or multiple earlier incarnations) to have an effect on me.

So even though Precious does have some of those elements, don't cast it off: it's hardcore and coarse and at some points difficult to watch, but it's worth it.

Precious Jones is a sixteen-year-old girl who is pregnant for the second time with her father's child. She lives in an abusive household with her mother, who is on welfare. She is severely overweight and is told countless times by her mother that she is useless.

And yet, Precious still has dreams: she dreams of having boys fall for her, of being the star of the show. Her dreams appear to the audience whenever she has a trial she cannot face: when we see, near the beginning of the movie, as her father rapes her (a disturbingly well-done scene that tells us just enough without being graphic). As the film progresses, the audience starts to wonder how Precious has even survived this long: she just seems to be at the most downtrodden she ever could be.

A teacher at her public school decides to send her to an alternative school, where she meets the teacher: Blu Rain, a woman who Precious will later be shocked to discover is a lesbian. In a classroom full of misfits, Precious finds her voice and is able to begin learning to read and write.

The story up until this point seems trite, like something we've seen before. If the movie were to end here, though, I still would have been impressed: Precious' problems are nowhere near as one-dimensional as so many we see in movies about misfits: she is not only pregnant, she is pregnant with her father's child; she is not only overweight, she is obese; she is not only abused, she is essentially her mothers servant. The film, however, does not stop here: Precious goes on to be even more tormented, becomes homeless, discovers that her father had AIDS when he raped her. Precious' hardships seem to never end, and yet, she continues to stay grounded and knows what is most important for her, and in the end, in a beautiful visual metaphor, learns to be OK with who she is instead of always dreaming of who she might like to be.

Near the end of the film, a creepily heart-warming speech from Precious' abusive mother gives the story even more dimension: the mother can no longer be the proverbial “bad guy,” for she has suffered herself.

In resuming this film on paper, however, no matter how much I explain it, I, and anyone who tries, does it a disservice. It is really because of the wonderful acting, the heart-wrenching visuals and the images of Precious' inner world and inner strength that make this film a great one. If you don't believe me, at least believe the viewer's poll: for the moment, Precious is in the lead.

- Emily Monaco

Fifth Row, Left Side