Sounder

Sounder (1972) is available to watch online on iFILM — a drama directed by Martin Ritt and based on William H. Armstrong's novel, starring Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield.

Louisiana, the 1930s. The Morgan family — Black sharecroppers — scrape by on almost nothing. The father is jailed for stealing food to feed his children and sent to a work camp with no forwarding address. His oldest son David sets off alone across the rural South to find him. Their dog Sounder waits at the door. The journey forces a boy into adult reckoning faster than anything school ever could.

Shot on location in the Louisiana bayou, the film uses the actual landscape — flat, dry, unforgiving — as part of its emotional weight. Tyson and Winfield were both up for Academy Awards; the picture landed four nominations total. Taj Mahal composed and performed the score, and stepped in front of the camera for a small role. Stream Sounder (1972) online on iFILM.