The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1968)

Melvin Van Peebles' first feature film -- shot on a shoestring budget during his self-imposed exile in France -- occasionally betrays itself as the work of a director still developing a firm command of his medium, but it's also visually compelling, ambitious, intelligent, and obviously the work of a man with a lot of ideas and the determination to get them on film. Concerning an African-American soldier stationed in Europe (played by Harry Baird, who does solid work, though his rhythm wavers a bit and his accent seems to shift here and there), who is at once subject to the prejudice and ignorance of American culture while sampling the contradictory freedoms and delusions of the French, The Story of a Three-Day Pass doubtless had no small personal significance for an American abroad such as Van Peebles, and while it wears its political and social agenda less dramatically than in Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and The Watermelon Man, the film never lets the audience forget that this is meant to be more than just love story (or even just a cross-racial love story). The Story of a Three-Day Pass is also shot full of humor -- often barbed and a bit acidic, but funny despite it all -- and the film's bold black-and-white images and inventive framings make it clear that Van Peebles had a firm command of the visual aspects of filmmaking right off the bat (not always the case for a novelist new to the medium). The Story of a Three-Day Pass often feels like a first film, but its a first film from a director who had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do in his new medium, and offers further evidence of the consistent quality of Van Peebles' unfortunately small body of work. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide