Review: REBIRTH OF A NATION at Kennedy Center

Sometimes things sound really good on paper, but never fully pan out in their final incarnations. Paul D. Miller's ( aka DJ Spooky) Rebirth of a Nation is a prime example of this scenario becoming reality.

This program was conceived as a reimagining of one of the most racist films ever made. The Birth of a Nation, the 1915 epic by D.W. Griffith, hit almost every subject that offended (and continues to offend) people to this day. Images of the KKK, lynchings, slavery, and other things that did not make America great were depicted in the film.

Miller's idea to reimagine the work is a good one in that he wanted to show that although we've come quite far on the tolerance front, some things have not changed in the last 102 years since the original film's release. Unfortunately, with a recent lynching at University of Maryland and other racially-charged incidents like it across the country, Miller's contention that the original film maintains its relevance is correct.

Here is where Miller's project went wrong for me. Miller, in his opening speech, talked about how the original film was scored 'Wagnerian' (i.e. big and dramatic) mixed with period southern music. Miler's scoring for his reedited version lacks any kind of variance and, with very few exceptions, does not carry the epic and very dramatic story. Only in the section that depicts President Lincoln's assassination does the music match the action.

It's too bad because Miller was joined by a very talented string ensemble named Sound Impact. The members are Anne Donaldson (violin), Sonya Chung (violin), Tiffany Richardson (viola), and Sean Neidlinger (cello). The ensemble sounded great, but I think the scoring would have been more interesting if it were just the quartet and not them playing to Miller's redundant tracks from his commercially available recording of the music.

I am also now questioning why this was playing at the Kennedy Center. The presentation consisted of Miller sitting at his editing equipment with the quartet to his left and the movie being projected. It doesn't make for an interesting watch. This whole project felt more to me like a final college thesis rather than something that belonged in a theatrical venue.

I give Paul D. Miller credit for his idea, but without any creative help from any other collaborators, Rebirth of a Nation, despite all it has to say, left me cold. It did not provide a thought-provoking opportunity to continue the conversation about equality and race in this country. The topics are still potent, but not as presented here.

Running Time: One hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.

Rebirth of a Nation was a one-night-only event in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center on May 23, 2017.

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