A space alien (Joe Morton) crash-lands his spaceship into the Hudson River and soon finds himself wandering through Harlem amongst throngs of people that look just like him. Superficial similarities soon give way to cultural differences as the mute alien is alternately mesmerized and terrified by the many manifestations of life in the New York streets. After finding a helping hand in a local bar, he rents a room and attempts to find his place in society by getting a job repairing video games. Tension mounts when a pair of "men in black" appears on the scene professing to be hunting an "illegal alien."
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The review of this Movie prepared by Josh Turgenov
An alien crashes in New York harbor and tries to survive on the streets of Harlem. Fortunately, he's black! Unfortunately, he can't speak. Fortunately, he picks up information quickly and can heal broken machines and people's wounds with a touch. Unfortunately, two men in black are in hot pursuit. A social worker keeps trying to find the brother jobs, a single mother puts him up, he encounters muggers, druggies, and an OD, tries shooting up himself, making love to a sexy bar singer, and in general tries to stay out of the clutches of the men in black (wonderfully deadpanned by writer/director John Sayles himself and young David Strathairn). This early Sayles project (1984) is curiously slow-paced and meanders a lot, but nevertheless is oddly compelling. A lot of gentle wit and humor enrich the plot. Morton is impressively nuanced in the non-speaking lead role.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus