Watch The Last Black Man in San Francisco

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a stunningly beautiful and poignant film that explores themes of home, community, and gentrification. Set in present-day San Francisco, the story follows the life of Jimmie Fails, who dreams of reclaiming the Victorian house his grandfather built and once owned in the city's Fillmore District. Jimmie is a young black man who struggles with his identity in a city that is rapidly changing.

The film opens with Jimmie and his best friend, Montgomery Allen, skateboarding through the streets of San Francisco. They pass by elegant Victorian houses and trendy cafes that are full of people who look nothing like them. Jimmie has a deep attachment to the house he grew up in, which his family lost many years ago. He believes that the house was taken away from them unfairly and has a strong desire to reclaim it. Jimmie and Mont spend their days fixing up the house, painting it the same shades of blue and white that his grandfather used, and imagining what it would be like to live in it once again.

Jimmie lives with Mont and Mont's grandfather, who is played by Rob Morgan. Mont's grandfather is a fixture in the neighborhood and an old friend of Jimmie's family. He is highly respected and represents a link to a past that is rapidly disappearing. Mont, on the other hand, is an aspiring playwright who tries to document the changes happening in the city through his art.

As Jimmie and Mont work on the house, they encounter resistance from the current occupants, who are a rich white couple who try to push them off the property. This leads Jimmie to embark on a journey to uncover the true story of his family and the house. He discovers that his grandfather did not actually build the house, as he had been told all along.

Throughout the film, Jimmie struggles to find a sense of belonging. He feels like an outsider in the city that he loves, as the people who run it do not reflect him or his community. He meets a girl named Kofi, played by Tichina Arnold's daughter, Tichina Arnold, who works at a fish market in the area. She sees something special in Jimmie and encourages him to pursue his dreams.

Ultimately, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a meditation on the way that cities can shape our identities and the way we need to be seen in order to thrive. The film is beautifully shot, with a color palette that vividly captures the heart of the city. The screenplay, written by Jimmie Fails and Joe Talbot, is poetic and full of insight into the human condition.

Above all else, the film is a love letter to San Francisco and the communities that have shaped it. It is a reminder that we must stay connected to our roots and to the people who have come before us, even as we move forward into the future. The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a truly exceptional film, one that should be seen by anyone who cares about the power of storytelling and the importance of preserving history.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a 2019 drama with a runtime of 2 hours. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.3 and a MetaScore of 83.