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At the start of Ludi (2021), the small, stirring slice-of-life drama that closes out the African Diaspora International Film Festival this weekend, writer-director Edson Jean offers a Haitian proverb: “Breasts are never too heavy for those who have them.” The cheeky adage implores people—well, primarily women—to assume their responsibilities, no matter how large.
Ludi (Shein Mompremier), the young nurse at the center of this 81-minute story, seems to have taken this sentiment to heart. When Ludi was a child, her family traded Haiti for Miami in search of the American dream. Years later, she’s still looking for it—and is willing to sacrifice her sleep, her social life, and even her moral compass, to find it.
But Ludi, Jean’s directorial debut, knows what most immigrants living in the U.S. quickly learn: There’s no guarantee that dream becomes a reality. As our protagonist puts it: “I’m still chasing a better life, but in this country, it looks like I’ll die before I reach it.”
The film kicks off with the click of a cassette tape. While Ludi gets ready for work, she listens to a recorded message from her relatives in Haiti, a clever recurring tactic that gives the film organic exposition. Fafa, her godchild, kindly asks Ludi to buy her a dress for graduation. In a heartbreaking sequence, Ludi records her response: “Forgive me, because I won’t have enough money for the dress.” She winces, rewinds the tape, and re-records her answer into a maybe. Then, into a yes.
Ludi’s first act is an energetic, tense portrait of a woman trying to make ends meet. An opportunity for the extra cash presents itself when Blanca (Madelin Marchant), Ludi’s lippy landlady who doubles as a nurse, asks her to cover a private care shift. But Ludi’s employer forbids outside work, so she declines: “Lying in secret is still lying,” she tells Blanca.
The conversation cuts into Ludi’s commute, so she takes off running through Miami’s colorful Little Haiti neighborhood (with dazzling cinematography by Juan Camilo Barriga) as Haitian drums and singing, courtesy of Miami-based singer Inez Barlatier, build tension. On her bus ride, the driver interrogates Ludi about her single, childless status, while she scrutinizes his support of presidential candidate Donald Trump. “You leave Haiti because of a dictator, and then you vote for another one,” she observes, bemused.
Desperate to buy Fafa a dress, Ludi begs her hospital supervisor for overtime shifts; the supervisor declines upon realizing that last week, Ludi clocked in nearly 60 hours. Ludi then asks her co-workers if she can cover for them, but they need the extra cash just as much as she does. Out of options, Ludi ducks into a room and gives Blanca a call: She’ll take that outside shift. “What happened to goody two shoes?” Blanca teases.
That’s how Ludi ends up at the apartment of George (Alan Myles Heyman), an old Jewish man who wants nothing to do with the nurse he suspects his children sent. Their push-and-pull becomes the anchor of Ludi’s back half, which takes place entirely in George’s cold apartment. Both actors are up to the challenge. It’s impossible not to root for Mompremier, who is at once gentle and stern as Ludi. George is sarcastic and defiant, yet Heyman plays him with charm and warmth, making him just as easy to sympathize with.
Ludi, co-written by Jean and Joshua Jean–Baptiste, never becomes the heavy-handed message movie it has the potential to be. The script resists the trap of turning any of its characters into blameless heroes or neat villains, instead letting them be messy humans. Ludi’s insistence on helping George may come from a good place, but leads her to make annoying, and sometimes downright wrong, decisions. While George’s stubborn refusal of help he clearly needs is frustrating to watch, it’s also an understandable attempt to preserve what’s left of his dignity.
When an unfortunate accident forces both Ludi and George to sacrifice some of their tightly held dignity, the unlikely pair manages to find common ground in their desperation. It’s a heartfelt conclusion that doesn’t patronize its viewers by resolving all of its characters’ problems, another instance of Ludi serving as a masterclass in restraint. Maybe Jean picked up that particular skill back in 2016 when he watched Barry Jenkins at work—Jean had a minor acting role in Moonlight.
The only downside to Ludi’s restraint is that it might leave you wanting more. Ludi and George are such vivid, meaty characters that the 80 minutes we get to spend with them don’t quite feel like enough. Ludi’s runtime only allows for so much plot. Still, Jean manages to stuff it to the brim with heart.
Ludi screens at 6:30 p.m. on Aug.13 followed by a conversation with director Edson Jean. Jean’s drama closes out D.C.’s 16th annual African Diaspora International Film Festival, running Aug. 11 through 13 at George Washington University Student Center. nyadiff.org. $40–$120.
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