I’ve waited a while to actually write a review on Losing Ground, not because it does not deserve a review, but because even the zenith of my current abilities could not fully capture the philosophical musings of this film. Losing Ground follows a black female professor in Sara, a philosophy academic who searches for her own personal ecstasy. She is by-the-book and methodical, from which that very delineated order has prevented her from absorbing the ecstatic experience. Her husband, Victor, becomes infatuated with the idyllic neighborhoods of the hills. In particular, he takes a Hispanic woman named Celia to be his artistic point of reference. Over time, it transforms into a need to co-opt her. Meanwhile, Sara’s search for ecstatic enlightenment makes her accept an acting gig in a silent vaudeville film. Collins frequently intertwines the intellectual layers of her film with relatably instinctual layers of emotion, making it a piquant and poignant narrative.
Losing Ground’s effortless layering of narrative and level of observation is a remarkable achievement. There is also no question as to its pioneering of non-stereotypical representational black film, choosing to engage in fundamental questions about art and the human experience. It should, in my opinion, be a part of any film buff’s repertoire.
