The romance between two African Americans who come from a different class background.
Horace B. Jenkins wrote, produced and directed this beautiful romantic drama in 1982. After his passing, the film was said to have disappeared following its completion, but thankfully for the first time ever, it is making its grand debut.
When Peter (Richard Romain) returns back to Cane River, Louisiana, after many years away, he meets Maria Mathis (Tommye Myrick). Tension builds between the families when Mrs. Mathis (Carol Sutton) forbids Maria to see Peter again after discovering that he is the descendant of the Metoyer family. As Maria researches details of Peter’s family history, she confronts him about his great grandmother, a former slave who was leased to a white French man by the name of Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer. Following a nearly 20-year relationship, Claude purchased her and the children which offered her freedom, money, and land and eventually she began buying her own slaves.
Ashamed of Peter’s family history, Mrs. Mathis tries to warn Maria that people like him think they are better than the non-mixed blacks and he will always treat her beneath him. As they sneak around behind their family’s backs, spending more time together, they fall in love, despite their differences and Maria realizes she wants to be with him. As she sets off to college, Maria tells Peter in front of her family that she will no longer see him and that she is planning to follow her dreams instead. As Mrs. Mathis is proud of her daughter’s decision to respect her wishes, the story ends with Peter reading a love letter Maria has written him professing to be with him forever.
This is a lovely movie and the best ending I’ve seen in a long time. They just don’t make ‘em like they did in the ’80s. Beautiful film, an incredible cast and if you love a good old classic love story based on true historical events, you’ll definitely want to check this one out.
Available now for the first time in forty years in a brand-new, state-of-the-art 4k restoration, “Cane River” will receive a limited release in select theaters Friday, Feb. 7th.
