Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’ Goes ‘Inside the Story’ of Caste System Suffering in New Trailer | Video

While it’s doing a one-week qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles, the majority of audiences won’t be able to see Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” until January. Thankfully, Neon is giving them their first glimpse in the new feature, loosely based on Isabel Wilkerson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.”

DuVernay’s film follows a filmic interpretation of Wilkerson, played by Aujanue Ellis-Taylor, who is interested in writing a book looking at how all issues of inferiority in our society are based on caste. But as Isabel investigates that, she must deal with suffering immense loss in her own personal life. Told through vignettes of real events interspersed with Isabel’s journey, the film looks at how love and hatred are all, truly united.

Because of the unconventional narrative, which blends Isabel’s stories with that of several different oppressed groups of people, the trailer has its work cut out for it in telling the audience what it’s about. Thankfully, the emphasis on the power of Isabel’s story, coupled with select moments from individual vignettes create an overall powerful trailer that also highlights exquisite cinematography from Matthew J. Lloyd.

The feature also stars Jon Bernthal, as Isabel’s kindhearted husband, Niecy Nash-Betts, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Vera Farmiga. The cast is suitably stacked just in trailer alone, with additional appearances by Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald and Connie Nielsen.

The film is a project close to DuVernay’s heart. She explained during TheWrap’s Power Women Summit how she didn’t want to re-create Nazi book burnings on a Hollywood backlot so, instead, chose to film in the exact location in Germany where the actual events took place in 1933.

Shot in just 37 days, DuVernay’s production team filmed in the southern U.S., India and Germany to capture the story.

“Origin” has received near universal acclaim from the critical community. TheWrap’s Tomris Laffly was equally effusive in her review saying, “It’s a smart movie about smart people, following a brilliant Black woman distilling chaos into rationale and generously pouring her groundbreaking ideas into the world. It’s a rare thing.”

DuVernay returns to the big screen after the 2018 adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” DuVernay has predominately been focused on television in recent years, with her 2019 limited series “When They See Us” garnering two Primetime Emmy awards. She’s also worked on the series “Colin in Black & White” for Netflix and “DMZ” for Amazon.

Watch the trailer for “Origin” at the top of this post.

“Origin” hits theaters in limited release Jan. 19, 2024.

The post Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’ Goes ‘Inside the Story’ of Caste System Suffering in New Trailer | Video appeared first on TheWrap.