Borderline (1930)

The Criterion Portraits of the Artist box set offers a great variety of the works of Paul Robeson. My decision to watch the entire set may have led me somewhat astray with this film. I go to films mostly for the narratives they have to offer, but this was a bit too avant-garde for my tastes. It felt like a student film with the director throwing as much as he could at the viewer just to see what would stick. As far as I can tell, the story centers around an interracial couple cheating on their spouses and how this effects the racist townspeople who hang out at the local lesbian bar. Paul Robeson isn’t in the film nearly enough, maybe because just his presence overwhelms that of everyone around him.