Precious The Movie

Your home is not what it is supposed to be - How would you feel when your father rapes you and you have have already given birth to his first child and are awaiting the arrival of the second? How would you feel that despite all this your mother treats you as her slave and also abuses you sexually, physically and emotionally? In all of this how would you feel when your school tells you you are no longer fit to be in their institution due to the fact that you are pregnant a second time?

Clarice "Precious" Jones goes through this. Raped by her father and abused by her mother Precious becomes frustrated and angry with the world. She lives in abuse, poverty and illiteracy. She must also fight the prejudice of society seeing that she is looked upon as a fat, illiterate, black sixteen year old girl from Harlem. All Precious wants is another life.

But Precious is beautiful and smart. Her principal encourages her to try a special school and Precious, despite her mother cursing her as nothing but a dumb girl, dares to go to the school and further her education.

It is in this school that she meets Ms. Blue Rain. Ms. Blue Rain notices that Precious is traumatized and that she believes that she cannot accomplish anything. Ms. Blue Rain tells her to "Push Herself" so that she might get liberated from all the negativities that surround her life. She gives Precious hope for herself and hope for the future.

The movie Precious is based on the novel Push by the author Sapphire. It is, as I later read in Wikipedia, based on Sapphire's own experiences as a teacher in Harlem. The movie is a realistic masterpiece. The actors exude their roles with the efficiency and excellence that make you think they are the characters they portray. Precious's life is sad and heartbreaking. She slaves all day to please her mother who in turn blames her for their father not being at home. She also despises Precious and her children to the extent that she only desires to make Precious her servant and feed herself from Welfare. Precious attempts to find happiness in school but that never works out due to her mother's insistence she is dumb. But this movie is the journey of Precious from being enslaved to being liberated from all that enslaves her.

The artist Mo'Nique who portrays Precious's mother does a great role - she is believable in her sadomasochistic character and also in her cruelties concerning the very being of Precious who she subjugates. Precious is played by newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe, and she too executes her role with brilliance. There is the notable appearances by the artists Mariah Carey and also Lenny Kravitz.

Overall, Precious is a film that dares the abused to dream, love and be courageous enough to escape and triumph over their abusers and give them a taste of their own disease. It also dares us to be courageous enough to help those in need and to never abandon our dreams and individualism. The movie depicts systems that fail and families who have failed due to perversions and poverty. Precious's journey is one that will truly touch the very core of your soul.

(image and some information taken from Wikipedia.com)