‘All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt’ Review – A Lyrical Exploration Of Grief And Hope

The overall experience of filmmaker Raven Jackson’s beautiful film, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, is a lyrical exploration of grief and love. The film depicts allowing life to unfold and come to you instead of living based on ambitions. In this film, life is about being in the present, never looking ahead, and interested only in how we arrived at this moment. Ms. Jackson offers a layered portrait of how our lives begin shaping previous generations without our knowledge or the intent of those loved ones.

All of this is portrayed with a dreamlike beauty that epitomizes pure cinema. There isn’t a single false note, and no scene is wasted. This is the secret quality that resonates vibrantly within the frame of All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. Take a moment to smell the fragrance of magnolias in a Mississippi garden or feel the moist humidity from the Gulf settling on your skin. Consider how generations of saltwater floods shape the roads, just as the people who have walked the same path for years to come.

The film meanders a bit but begins to focus on the character of Mack. The script follows different stages of her life. As a little girl, she went fishing with her father, Isaiah (Chris Chalk), and sister, Josie, during muggy summer afternoons. The story has Mack spending a fair amount of time reminiscing as haunting memories creep into her mind. These memories include riding bikes with her best friend, Wood.

Another memory surfaces of when her mother, Evelyn (Sheila Atim), passed away. She often reflects on this later in life. When Mack reaches adulthood (played by Charleen McClure), she reunites with Wood (Reginald Helms, Jr.). They are at different points in their lives, yet there’s undeniable electricity between them. Although Wood now has a wife and family, they exchange soulful glances and longing gazes. Every moment they spend together feels like a road not taken, impossible to ignore.

It’s those memories that give meaning to a life where All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt finds significance without uttering a single word. Raven Jackson’s beautiful film focuses on moments that reveal the characters’ essence. Cinematographer Jomo Fray understands that life unfolds even in silence. Watch as the frame captures evocative sensory images related to touch.

For instance, Mack and Wood’s hands touch as adults, or when, as a child, Mack gently pats a wet catfish. The bubbles on the girl’s hands when their grandmother gives them a bubble bath or a sibling’s embrace as comfort. These moments unfold slowly and patiently, speaking to the mindful observer. They resonate with the lyrical storytelling style typical of independent filmmaking and genuine storytellers.

For those familiar with you, there’s no need for a monologue to convey one’s heart and mind. All Dirts Roads Taste of Salt is about shared history, the connections we foster, and the memories we keep. The film is ultimately holistic, in the way touch and smell remind us of the road taken, and how in our most mindful moments, we think about what could have been.

It’s those ties that bind. when water washes roads clean, they are still bound together. The interconnectedness of our lives and the ones that left a mark remains the same.

All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt is available to rent on all digital platforms courtesy of A24.