Based on the true story of Eugene Brown, “Life of a King” is a tale focused on a father aiming for redemption after being locked up for 18 years. The sophomore feature of Jake Goldberger, he makes it a point to let the audience know that chess is the perfect metaphor for life. The story of Eugene Brown is a pretty remarkable one, but when seeing it on the screen it just feels too much like a story we’ve all seen before. That’s nothing against the story of Eugene Brown, it’s more the fault of Hollywood as an industry recycling ideas that we’ve seen before. Following in the footsteps of “Stand and Deliver,” “Life of a King” centers heavily on one man making a change in an inner city neighborhood that’s struggle. What makes Life of a King different is how the change happens — through the game of chess.

After serving 18 years in prison for armed robbery, Eugene (Gooding Jr.) goes back out into the world to start over and readjust to the life that he finally has back. He attempts to reconnect with his daughter Katrina (Rachae Thomas) and his son Marcus (Jordan Calloway), but both of them spurn his attempts. Katrina is busy with her pre-law studies while Marcus, now in juvie, wants nothing to do with the father who abandoned him. Through the help of a friend, Eugene is able to get a job as a janitor in a high school. Lying about his conviction on the job application, Principal King (Hamilton) hires him on the spot. One day after school while Eugene his working, Principal King asks Eugene to look after some unruly kids in detention as she tries to find a new detention monitor. Soon enough, this would be a regular gig for Eugene as his assertive voice is heard by these troublemakers.

Eugene decides to show these kids the game of chess, which he learned in prison and played for years with an inmate of his by the name of Searcy (Haysbert). Eugene wants to make sure these kids don’t follow the same path he fell down, so he hopes that by teaching them chess he’ll get through to them. And, shockingly, it seems to work. With the exception of one student, Clifton, who seems to be the main troublemaker/drug dealer, most of the students seem to follow in Eugene’s path. But what Eugene is unaware of is that with his chess, Clifton is unable to sell his drugs which causes friction between him and his supplier, Perry (Richard T. Jones). While Clifton is becoming more annoyed with Eugene, his friend Tahime (Mays) is a natural at the game and eventually starts to stay behind to play. Once Tahime starts getting into chess, “Life of a King” becomes a battle for the soul of Tahime as Eugene tries his hardest to keep the kid out of trouble.

While obviously a good-intentioned high school drama, “Life of a King” can get extremely heavy handed and melodramatic at times. That’s not always a bad thing as it allows for an emotional viewing, but at times it really brings out some of the weaknesses of both the script and an antagonist that, to me, just seemed weak. I get that the message with the antagonist was to show that not everyone will have your back, but it felt far too predictable and Perry just wasn’t a character I found myself interested in. That being said, the film lives off of the emotional, charismatic performance of Cuba Gooding Jr. and it’s a treat to watch him take on heavier roles again. Gooding Jr., when at his best, really could be considered as one of the most exciting actors to watch in Hollywood.

What “Life of a King” comes down to is this…the film can be melodramatic to a fault, it carries a good message that can at times be heavy handed, and it’s the type of movie that we have seen before. Yet while watching “Life of a King,” all I can think of was how authentic the movie actually felt. The young actors really felt like they were learning, while making this movie with Cuba Gooding Jr. leading the way. “Life of a King” is an imperfect film and that’s okay as these are imperfect characters who have realistic flaws. It may have been a bit too feel good at the end, but you can’t help but smile. “Life of a King” has the potential to be one of the indie surprises of the year and it should be seen by audiences everywhere.

-Joshua Kaye

You’ve probably heard his voice or recognize him from “Major League” or “24.”  Dennis Haysbert has enjoyed a career spanning more than 30 years.

In fact some still mistake him for A United States President from his “24” sitcom character

“That’s the highest compliment I can get.  That means I immersed myself in the role and people believed it,” says Haysbert.

These days, audiences see him regularly on as the voice of the Allstate Insurance commercials.

“Instead of being in television show that has 15 million viewers, if that at week, I’m probably seen by over 250,000 or more every day,” Haysbert explains.

In his teens, he had to make a decision between sports or acting.  Haysbert turned down a couple of athletic scholarships to pursue acting.

“It was a calling.  I knew I could touch more lives as an actor than I could as a football player, basketball player, or running track or anything like that, or a doctor or lawyer or anything.  Actually I could play all those roles on television,” Haysbert says.

Thursday morning, he played another important role, using his presence to inspire troubled youth at the Covenant House.

“What an amazing place for support and the kids that come here have a great opportunity to move forward in their lives and be productive citizens,” Haysbert says.

Haysbert’s father and brother are Navy and Army veterans, respectively, but he said they never really talk about their service. It was “The Unit,” he said, that got him acquainted with the military and led to his frequent support for the USO.

“It got me very empathetic about what our troops go through, and I wanted to see firsthand,” Haysbert said.

He made his first USO trip in 2008, to Iraq and Kuwait, followed by another in 2009 to Afghanistan with then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen.

“It’s always fun, it’s always educational. It’s always emotional, you know, because just being an actor, I’m a little more perceptive than the average tour person,” he said. “I’m about immersion. I eat where they eat, I walk where they walk.”

Military Times sat down with Haysbert earlier this year to dish on his experiences playing a soldier on TV and interacting with real troops in the war zone.

Q. On your USO visits, did people recognize you as the president or Sgt. Maj. Blane?

A. The president. But at the time, it was really about Jonas Blane, because we were playing special operators, and they knew that they couldn’t ever get that kind of notoriety. The fact that we were portraying them and doing a credible job, they really enjoyed that.

Especially when I got to go to the special ops compound. I got a chance to shoot all the weapons and just talk to these guys.

They were just beside themselves, you know, as were we. They were giving us compliments on what we did and I said, “Guys, we just act. I mean, as soon as they say cut, we go home. You guys are still in it.”

He said, “Yeah, but that’s just our job.”

Q. What are your favorite memories from visiting the troops?

A. One of the best moments was at Camp Victory, [Iraq]. We were talking to a few troops, my colleagues and I from “The Unit,” and someone says, “You know what? Let’s go play a trick on one of the guys here. He’s in his cot, watching “The Unit,” and he’d be so shocked if he saw you.”

I said, “Oh yeah, let’s go check it out.” And his back was to us, he was watching the show. So we kind of walked in and didn’t say anything, because he just thought his buddies were back. And I just, you know, using my deepest Jonas Blane voice, said, “Oh, I remember that scene.” …

His eyes went wide as saucers and he said, “No way,” and looked back at the screen and said, “No expletive way!”

Q. What was the best part about playing a Special Forces sergeant major?

A. You know, it was doing the job. We knew we were portraying a group of men and women who never get that notoriety or the accolades of doing their job. And also telling as much truth as we could within the confines of television.

Everyday was a great time. You didn’t mind getting dirty because you’re in fatigues and that was your job. You just got to do your job. And I always felt like I was channeling, with every episode, a different sergeant major.

By name I was Jonas Blane, but it just felt like I was whomever was in that kind of story. Because I know every story we shot, at least in the first year and a half, had some elements of truth to it.

Q. Did training for the show prepare you for being in a war zone?

A. [In Iraq]we had two Black Hawks that we were on. And one thing I noticed right away is that we got real serious when we were heading to the choppers. We had our flak jackets on and our helmet and everything else. Every one of us, we all found ourselves next to the gunners.

It wasn’t a safety thing being next to gunners, because I’m sure the Iraqis … knew where the guns were and where to target. And we didn’t discuss it, but we all knew how to shoot, so if anything happened to the gunners, we would just take the chair.

I’m not saying we were doing this under any kind of bravery, we just did it because it was practical. We kind of went into our characters, I guess.

Q. Your voice is your trademark — how do you take care of it?

A. I drink a lot of tea and honey. Cayenne pepper is really good because it cuts through any kind of mucus and phlegm. I kind of treat it like a singer.

I never say too much in the mornings, until I’ve had my first cup of tea. And not a lot of yelling. I don’t have to yell, ever. It’s just not my way. Even with my kids, when they were younger, I developed “the look.”

I’ve come around corners sometimes and said, “Hello.” It can be a little intimidating to people, but most of them think it’s sexy.

Golden Globe nominated Haysbert stars in the Closing Night Film, “The Black Moses”, a film about the life and times of Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, the first black Prime Minister of The Bahamas.

Pindling, regarded as the “Father of the Nation” in The Bahamas led it to independence in 1973 and served as Prime Minister of The Bahamas from 1969 to 1992. He was leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) from 1965 to 1997 when he resigned from public life. He died in 2000.

“The Black Moses” is said to be a documentary and will feature commentary from widow Dame Marguerite Pindling; American minister and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor Andrew Young; Sir Sidney Poitier; former South African President Thabo Mbeki (for Nelson Mandela); former Canadian PM Brian Mulroney; Former Jamaican PM PJ Patterson, musician Wyclef Jean; and many other international luminaries.

Director Travolta writes on his IMDB page, “Was L.O Pindling, first black Prime Minister of The Bahamas, one of history’s greatest national Liberators, or was he one of history’s greatest national Drug Dealers? The Black Moses takes a looks at the popular folk ‘moses mythology’ as it was manifested through the life and times of Sir Lynden Pindling. It follows L.O Pindling as he sets on a course to bring about social, political, and economic revolution to the British Bahama Islands.”
Dennis Haysbert has been known to spend much time in The Bahamas, and was honoured at the 2011 FLIFF on Location: Grand Bahama Island film festival offshoot of Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival with a Career Achievement Award. He has appeared in such films such as Waiting to Exhale, and Love & Basketball; and on television, aside from being the face and voice of Allstate Insurance, he has played the president of the United States on 24 and led the cast in CBS series, The Unit.

On his Facebook fan page he wrote, “Now three years in the making, we’re working steadily to deliver to you the best movie possible.”

Bafana means ‘boys’. Gregory lived on a farm and he had a black friend when he was a child and that is the reason he is able to speak Xhosa.

Marking its 10th anniversary, the festival will showcase 108 films from 32 different countries, including four features that are world premieres.
The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative, Documentary, New Visions and Short Films. Other categories include Panorama Narrative, Documentary and out-of-competition shorts. Special sections include the Youth Film Workshop films made by five local schools as well as a World Cinema showcase spotlighting Chinese films provided by the Chinese Embassy in The Bahamas.
The festival will run Dec. 5-13, with Bahamian Son opening the festival and Black Moses closing it. This year marks the first time a documentary has been selected to close BIFF.
“As the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) celebrates its 10th anniversary and The Bahamas celebrates its 40th year of independence, what better way to recognize these milestones then by having Bahamian films open and close the festival,” BIFF founder and executive director Leslie Vanderpool said. “Film Festivals were created for the independent filmmakers, and once again I am proud to present a Bahamian film as the opening night film. Bahamian Son is that story that shares a taste of the Bahamian culture through the lens of a true son of The Bahamas.”
Added Henderson: “We are ecstatic that our film will be headlining BIFF this year. Shooting a semi-autobiographical film was not easy, and it had its challenges, but we had wonderful support from the Bahamian community during the making of this film.”
Cooper said the festival has played a key role in his career as a filmmaker, providing mentors like filmmaker Malcolm Lee and producer Jane Schoettle.
The full lineup, including the 58 short films screening at the festival, can be found at: www.bintlfilmfest.com.