The Exiles
Kent MacKenzie, 1961, 70 min 

The Exiles chronicles one night in the lives of young Native American men and women living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles. Based entirely on interviews with the participants and their friends, the film follows a group of exiles – transplants from Southwest reservations – as they flirt, drink, party, fight and dance. With its vivid, high-contrast black and white photography and creative soundtrack, Kent Mackenzie’s gritty depiction of this marginalized Los Angeles community draws comparisons to John Cassavetes, Charles Burnett and Vittorio De Sica.

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Part of our Histoire(s) du cinéma series