Belief

A short drama written and directed by Christian Loubek and starring Erika Hamilton, Barrett Hamilton Loubek, Mykee Selkin, Tia Robinson and Charley Harper Loubek.

Lennox (Selkin) and his wife (Robinson) and daughter (Harper Loubek) have just moved to another house and in one of their boxes, Lennox discovers a letter that was send to his mother (Hamilton) from his school when he was a boy. This accidental discovery causes Lennox to remember the tremendous efforts and sacrifices his mother went though in order to give him a good life.

This heart-warming story is primarily a mother-and-son relationship, showing a devoted parent who is determined to help her child achieve in life after the school he attends announces that he is unsuitable to carry on with his lessons. So she decides that Lennox will be home-schooled from now on and she will teach him herself. She removes a door from their home, converts it into a desk and proceeds to teach her boy, while working as a nurse and socialising with friends. As time passes, the two of them make progress and Lennox proves that he is intelligent and capable. Watching a single parent go to such lengths for their only child is very inspitational and emotional and the plot twist in the end shows how much she loves and believes in her son. As moving and beautiful as all this is, it wouldn't had such an emotional impact without the wonderful selection of songs that include Found by Jacob Banks, I've Got Reasons by Mary Jane Hooper and Don't Let The Devil Fool You by A Moment In Time.

Could there be something in this great and moving film that could had been done differently? Perhaps the use of repetition should had been cut down a bit. The flashbacks that show Lennox as a child being home-schooled by his mother are constructed as a montage that repeatedly alternates between scenes that primarily involve Lennox at home, being taught by his mum, Lennox playing in a playground playground and his mother working or playing cards with friends. Although the obvious purpose of these scenes present the lifestyle of the two protagonists and their progress, maybe there were too many of them as some are almost identical to others and do not seem to add anything to the narrative.

This short gains enormously from the strong performances, particularly by Hamilton as a single mother who is being strong for her son and is determined to support him. When the screenplay was written, Husband-and-wife Christian Loubek and Erika Hamilton waited for their children (Barrett Hamilton Loubek and Charley Harper Loubek) to reach the appropriate age in order to play the parts in the film and they both do a great job.

The themes that are explored are numerous. This is a story about parenthood, particularly motherhood, about the sacrifices a parent does for their children so they can succeed in life. As the title suggests, belief is another subject, believing in others and self-belief. Support is of course another and so is the idea that people should not let others convince them that they are worthless, which leads to the belief that one must never give up. From a different perspective, as all the characters are African Americans, this film works as a commentary about life of African Americans in the United States and the presence of books that include Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up To Become Malcolm X and Assata: An Autobiography seems to point out the struggles of African Americans.

By viewing this film, people will have the privilege of experiencing an inspirational and moving story filled with love, support and inner strength that will hopefully encourage them to believe that they can achieve even when the odds are against them.