All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a bold, visual mosaic of a Black girl/woman’s life in rural Mississippi and implements memories of love, heartbreak, hardship, and life events told in a nonlinear stream of consciousness. The movie opens with the line, “Slow, take your time”, and this echoes the pacing present. The pacing is slow and lingers.
Cinematically, the film has some lovely moments displaying her life and the music of nature and strings peacefully weave the movie together. Story wise, it was a slow burn a little hard to follow. There is a deep reflection of life, but the memories are not streamlined and organized linearly. The nonlinear manner does not allow the movie to have a solid buildup.
The narrative does allow the view to empathize with the characters. This isn’t a film for everyone as many will find it be very boring. It’s not the best film from A24 but undeniably beautiful in terms of cinematography and setting.
Overall, ‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’ stands out with its unique mosaic approach to memories but might not be for everyone’s appreciation.
