If you have never seen this brilliantly quixotic amalgam of poignancy, illumination, pathos, sentimentality, and absurdity you have something to look forward to experiencing. There is nothing like it.
The Blood of Jesus is a 1941 American film with an all-black cast, directed by Spencer Williams. The movie has an exceptional musical score of Gospel hymns.
Martha and Ras are a couple living somewhere in the rural American South. Martha has a strong Christian faith, and as the film opens, she is being baptized into the local black church. Ras (Spencer Williams), however, is not religious, and goes hunting on the morning of his wife’s baptism. Afterwards, Martha tries to get Ras to accept Jesus, but he isn’t interested.
Events take a tragic turn when Ras drops his gun, causing it to discharge and shoot Martha in the chest. The church choir prays and sings at her bedside, but Martha is believed to be beyond hope. An angel appears, the spirit of Martha leaves her body, and she goes on an allegorical journey to decide whether she goes to Heaven or Hell.
8:37 am on July 8, 2022
