The Harder They Come
Is screening today at Campus Film Classics at the University of the West Indies. FROM THE ORGANISERS: "In The Harder They Come reggae star Jimmy Cliff plays Ivan O. Martin, a Jamaican country boy who heads for Kingston in search of fame and fortune as a singer. Faced with the harsh reality of city life, Ivan ends up taking work with a local preacher, and is later jailed for participating in a knife fight. Upon his release, Ivan finally gets to record his song “The Harder They Come”, but is then exploited by a dishonest record company executive. Ivan turns his back on the establishment, and slides into crime and the drug trade. He keeps the police at arm's length by offering them a slice of the action, but ultimately finds himself in the middle of a bloody raid. Ivan kills several cops and escapes, whereupon "The Harder They Come" is released, elevating the fugitive to the status of folk hero. Adopting a take-no-prisoners approach to its material and presenting an un...