"You are completely winded, and then you take a swig of rum:" Jonathan David Kane On Papa Machete

Hans Morgenstern December 17, 2014 10:57AM

You don't have to look too deeply into the short film Papa Machete to see the ethos of the Miami-based film collective Borscht. The short is both poetic and absurd; observant and human.

For a short film no longer than nine minutes long, it offers a layered view of a fascinating aspect of Haitian culture. It's a beautiful tribute to one of the island nation's last remaining masters of tire machèt, a Haitian farmer named Alfred Avril, who passed away only a few weeks ago. Tire machèt or "Machete Fencing" has a fascinating history, the art grew out of the slave revolt that led to Haiti's independence in 1804.

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Hans Morgenstern has contributed to Miami New Times for too many decades, but he's grown to love Miami's arts and culture scene because of it. He is the chair of the Florida Film Critics Circle, and most of his film criticism can be found on Independent Ethos (indieethos.com) if not in New Times.

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Twitter: @HansMorgenstern