Bim
Encyclopedia
Bim is a 1974 Trinidad and Tobago
film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson
. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago".
boy living in Trinidad is sent to live with his aunt after his father, a trade union leader for sugar cane workers, is shot to death during a wedding. At his new school, he is isolated and picked on by the black students because of his "coolie
" (Indian) heritage. As tension builds during his very first day he is forced to stab one of the students as a means of defence to make it home alive. This incident gets Bim kicked out of school and his aunt's home and he is forced to live a life of violence and crime to survive. As Bim matures and becomes older, he moves from crime to crime, until involved by implication in a murder he flees back to his home place, the sugar cane belt. Approaching one of his father's old friends, he is able to take revenge on his father's killers and rise to prominence as a trade union representative for the Indian sugar cane workers.
During this time, tension is rife in the country because the previous colonial regime is rumoured to be coming to an end. This causes resentment among the Indians as they feel that once the 'blacks' have power they will be worse than the colonials were to the Indians. Bim's swift rise to power is tempered by loneliness and drunkenness. When he is invited to the Governor General's house (a high honour in colonial times) and is approached by the black political leader. He rejects both the black leader and the people to stagger outside. Then he ends his political and personal life in a dramatic way by killing some men who kidnapped his then girlfriend/helper Anna in a drunken power-drunk rage, ending the film in a scream.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson
Hugh A. Robertson
Hugh A. Robertson ) was an African-American film director and editor. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for Midnight Cowboy , and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing for the same film.Robertson subsequently edited Gordon Parks' 1971 film Shaft, which was his last credit...
. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago".
Plot
An IndianIndo-Trinidadian
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago of Indian or other South Asian ancestry.Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians has now become interchangeable with Indians or East Indians. These were people who were taken from India by the British either as workers or educated...
boy living in Trinidad is sent to live with his aunt after his father, a trade union leader for sugar cane workers, is shot to death during a wedding. At his new school, he is isolated and picked on by the black students because of his "coolie
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
" (Indian) heritage. As tension builds during his very first day he is forced to stab one of the students as a means of defence to make it home alive. This incident gets Bim kicked out of school and his aunt's home and he is forced to live a life of violence and crime to survive. As Bim matures and becomes older, he moves from crime to crime, until involved by implication in a murder he flees back to his home place, the sugar cane belt. Approaching one of his father's old friends, he is able to take revenge on his father's killers and rise to prominence as a trade union representative for the Indian sugar cane workers.
During this time, tension is rife in the country because the previous colonial regime is rumoured to be coming to an end. This causes resentment among the Indians as they feel that once the 'blacks' have power they will be worse than the colonials were to the Indians. Bim's swift rise to power is tempered by loneliness and drunkenness. When he is invited to the Governor General's house (a high honour in colonial times) and is approached by the black political leader. He rejects both the black leader and the people to stagger outside. Then he ends his political and personal life in a dramatic way by killing some men who kidnapped his then girlfriend/helper Anna in a drunken power-drunk rage, ending the film in a scream.
Cast
- Stafford Alexander as "Detective Jones"
- Jennifer Ali as "Young Anna"
- Clyde Alleyne as "Radio announcer"
- Ronald Amoroso as "Balo (Bim's Uncle"
- Oliver Boodnu as "Chitram"
- Helene Camps as "White Sympathizer"
- Garnett Craigwell as "Tallsocks"
- Joseph Gilbert as "Jalwat"
- George Gogar as "Village Elder"
- Rosr Hanuman as "Ria"
- John Henderson as "Frenchy"
- Ann Hilton as "Mary (Police Commissioner's Wife)"
- Wilbur Holder as "Wabham"
- Geddes Jennings as "Gas Station Attendant"
- Errol Jones as "Ben Joseph"
- Ramcharran Kissoon as "Village Elder"
- Sonia Kowlessar as "Bhagwan's Wife"
- Neville Labastide as "Corporal Joseph"
- Claire Laptiste as "Melba"
- Vernon Lloyd as "Governor"
- Linda London as "Maid"
- Tony Lutchman as "Tozo"
- Dennis Mahabir as "Bhagwan Singh (Bim's Father)"
- Anand Maharaj as "Young Bim"
- Grace Maharaj as "Babsie (Bim's Aunt)"
- Ralph MaharajRalph MarajRalph Maraj is a Trinidad and Tobago politician, playwright and teacher. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under a People's National Movement administration, Minister of Communication and Information Technology under a United National Congress administration, and was a founding member of...
as "Adult Bim" - Ramontar Malahoo as "Village Elder"
- Stanley Marshall as "Black Politician"
- Latiff Mohammed as "Village Elder"
- Hamilton Parris as "The Captain"
- Anthony Persad as "Ramdass"
- Errol Pilgrim as "Black Politician"
- Ava Regis as "Angela"
- Elaine Reid as "Black Politician"
- Anna Richardson as "Suzy"
- Ernest Rodrigues as "Pinhead"
- Finbar Ryan as "Mango-head"
- Anna Seerattan as "Adult Anna"
- Daniel Warner as "Teacher"
- Herby Whiskey as "Goldteeth"
External links
- Paddington, Bruce. 2004. Bim, Bim, Sink or Swim... Caribbean BeatCaribbean Beat' is a bimonthly magazine, published in Port of Spain, Trinidad, covering the arts, culture and society of the Caribbean, with a focus on the region's English-speaking territories...
. 70 (November/December 2004)