• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023)

October 31, 2023 by Robert Kojder

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, 2023.

Written and Directed by Raven Jackson.
Starring Charleen McClure, Sheila Atim, Moses Ingram, Reginald Helms Jr., Kaylee Nicole Johnson, Chris Chalk, Zainab Jah, Preston MacDowell, Jannie Hampton, and Jayah Henry.

SYNOPSIS:

A decades-spanning exploration of a woman’s life in Mississippi and an ode to the generations of people, places, and ineffable moments that shape us.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt wouldn’t exist.

It doesn’t come as a shock to learn that writer/director Raven Jackson (making her narrative feature-length debut) of All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is also a photographer. Not only is the lush Mississippi scenery captured across the 70s/80s, shot with delicate care by Jomo Fray, but a conscious choice is made to zoom in on and linger on hands, whether they be intertwined with a loved one or actively in use, such as reeling in a fishing rod while carefully listening to instructions. Hands are our most valuable assets, serving as the source of all connections, emotionally and earthly.

Eschewing any semblance of a traditional narrative, this fragmented, jumping-back-and-forth-between-time look at the life of a Black woman is more concerned with the emotions deeply felt from core memories rather than the circumstances surrounding them, meaning that a tender embrace here might go on for several minutes. Whether this is too much restraint or too muted of a story and characters will vary from person to person, as the film is unquestionably an exercise in poetic mood (Raven Jackson is also a poet.) You either palpably feel this experience, or you don’t, with nothing taken away from a committed ensemble attuned to Raven Jackson’s gentle, delicate cinematic touch.

That’s one way of saying that while a teenage Mackenzie (Kaylee Nicole Johnson) was saying goodbye to a lover, there’s no denying the evocative performances on display, but also not enough there to move and elicit similar tears from a viewer significantly. The same applies to contrasting an adult, pregnant Mack (Charleen McClure) and her childhood. This also doesn’t take away from the sharp clarity of the beautiful life juxtapositions on display, ping-ponging between different ages of Mack, with one memory typically complementing another in some form.

Given the ambiguous title that makes more sense as the film continues, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is just as much about humanity’s bond to the soil of the earth as it is about Mack’s pivotal, life-shaping moments. It’s a cliché, but rural Mississippi’s serene, gorgeous environmental beauty, including the dirt, is a character itself and allotted equal lingering time. These interactions are also quietly captured through slow, meaningful hand movements expressing the importance of becoming one with this land as her grandma had instilled upon her and her sister Josie. On a related note, the fleeting moments of minimal dialogue, typically between Mack and Josie, are engaging and effective.

Gradually, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt builds to a grander message about water relating to the transformations of life, brilliantly conveyed with lyrical profundity. The purpose of why Mack’s story is to be told as an assortment of memories without chronological order crystallizes. This artistic exercise has a moving point, but it is also challenging to become fully enveloped by its glacial pacing and striking images.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

 

Filed Under: Movies, News, Reviews, Robert Kojder Tagged With: All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Charleen McClure, Chris Chalk, Jannie Hampton, Jayah Henry, Kaylee Nicole Johnson, Moses Ingram, Preston MacDowell, Raven Jackson, Reginald Helms Jr., Sheila Atim, Zainab Jah

About Robert Kojder

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor.

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Crazy Cult 90s Horror Movies You May Have Missed

Out for Vengeance: Ten Essential Revenge Movies

15 Movies To Watch On Tubi UK

Seven Famous Cursed Movie Productions

9 Characters (And Their Roles) We Need In Marvel Rivals

Ten Great Comeback Performances

10 Essential Will Smith Movies

7 Sci-Fi Horror Movie Hidden Gems You Have To See

The Return of Cameron Diaz: Her Best Movies Worth Revisiting

10 Essential Sci-Fi Movies from 1995

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

Top Stories:

Movie Review – Rental Family (2025)

Movie Review – Rabbit Trap (2025)

Movie Review – The Long Walk (2025)

Movie Review – Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025)

Erotic horror-thriller Iconic hits the US and UK

Movie Review – John Candy: I Like Me (2025)

Movie Review – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

Almost Famous at 25: The Story Behind the Coming-of-Age Cult Classic

Movie Review – The History of Sound (2025)

10 Psychological Horror Gems You Need To See

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

Great Cyberpunk Movies You Need To See

Great Movies That Are An Absolute Masterclass in Acting

Revisiting the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

The Most Terrifying Movie Psychopaths of the 1990s

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket