Killer of Sheep

A haunting, compassionate slice of Black American life in 1970s California...

Charles Burnett's examination of Black American life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the decade after the Watts riots, is a series of carefully observed, poetic vignettes centered on the day-to-day existence of a hard-luck slaughterhouse worker and his family. Shot with almost documentary realism, the film has no overarching narrative but is nonetheless filled with images of both pain and startling beauty that will haunt you long after viewing.