Bath Film Festival 2008

Killer of Sheep

Killer of Sheep examines the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the mid-1970s through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is increasingly numbed by his work at a slaughterhouse. Frustrated by money problems, he finds respite in moments of simple beauty: the warmth of a coffee cup against his cheek, slow dancing to the radio with his wife, holding his daughter. With a magnificent blend of pop, jazz and blues, Killer of Sheep gains more lyricism from Burnett's carefully selected soundtrack, often contrasting the beauty of the music with the gritty realism on screen. The film offers no solutions; it merely presents life - sometimes hauntingly bleak, sometimes filled with transcendent joy and gentle humour. ‘...the least-known great modern movie from the United States' - Alex Cox, Sight & Sound.

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