I love to watch Jamaican films where I can hear people speak Jamaican. The Harder They Come was one of the first Jamaican films I saw growing up and I was always a fan of the film, so when I got my hands on the 30th Anniversary Special Edition of the film I had to watch it!
The Harder They Come is a movie about a musician, Ivanhoe “Ivan” Martin (played by legend, Jimmy Cliff), from the Jamaican countryside who goes to Kingston, the capital, to make records and launch his music career. As with so many stories like this, things are not as easy for Ivan as he thought they would be. Upon his arrival in Kingston, Ivan is robbed of all of his money and then searches for odd jobs to support himself while using his spare time to get studio time and record music. Finally he is hired to work in a repair shop by a preacher. Ivan soon gets the chance to make a record which eventually becomes a hit, but before he sees the returns on his talent, he sells the song to an unsavory music mogul for $20 instead of his desired $200. Down on his luck, Ivan is quick to fight and ends up killing one of his co-workers at the repair shop. He is soon wanted by the police and becomes an outlaw with a dream of being a hit musician. Eventually, his song becomes the number one song in Jamaica and he is a highly sought after musician. As a result of this film and its soundtrack, Jimmy Cliff became a world famous Jamaican musician.
This movie was one of the first Jamaican films to really give an in depth look into the path so many Jamaican artists followed to become famous. Just like Jimmy Cliff, in the past, many artists went to Kingston to get a record deal. The dishonest music mogul is a recurring them in the Jamaican musician’s road to fame. The other thing that this film presents to people is the “Bad Man” element of Jamaica. A Bad Man is a Gangster and often times, people involved in the music scene are also involved in other less wholesome elements of Jamaican society.
This movie is pretty good for hearing people Speak Jamaican Patois, but not the best. The good thing about the film is that you can hear the Jamaican accent and pronunciation, but it is not the most Patois intense film out there. The Harder They Come is also not a film about Rastas or anything related to the Rasta way of life. It does show a side of Jamaican culture that so few Jamaican movies show, the pursuit to get a record deal. It is for this reason that the Harder They Come has a special place in the Jamaican Film Catalog. I recommend getting this movie to get a more profound understanding of Jamaican Music Culture, but its not the best choice for someone learning to Speak Jamaican Patois.
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