Cousin Bobby

1992's COUSIN BOBBY has been a bit of a holy grail for me.  You may have read that I'm on a deliberate quest to see all of director Jonathan Demme's films, several of which are, like this one, documentaries.  And hard to track down.   I believe it was released on VHS in the 1990s.  It continues to be listed on Amazon for streaming, but is always "unavailable."  One Saturday night in 2020, I discovered someone uploaded it on YouTube.  Hallelujah.

Demme had a cousin named Robert Castle.  In the late 1980's, he re-established contact with the man he hadn't seen in some thirty years.  This was certainly material ripe for a doc.  Even without the familial tie, Castle was more than a worthy subject.  A colorful life, well lived.  An Episcopal priest from New Jersey who wasn't content with merely pleasing his congregation.  The world was on fire outside the church doors, and Castle became heavily involved in civil rights.  Black Panther members were invited to use his church for meetings.  He was involved in protests.  He was often in jail.

The wife Castle lost along the way is briefly interviewed.  We can fill in the blanks.  But we also get some nice footage of the family sharing memories, studying old photographs, walking in front of houses grown up in.  Bob and Jonathan piece together timelines, and laugh at some of the better moments from back in the day.  We don't hear too many negative recollections of the clan.

Then we're in Harlem, where Castle was serving when his filmmaker cousin came around.  The priest is out in the streets, leading chants and rants about urban blight and poverty.  He complains about all the broken glass that litters a modest local park, the only "country club" neighborhood children will likely every have.  Heartbreaking.  Castle is direct and honest as he watches them walk away, still filled with innocence and hope.

We also meet folks in a tenement that suffered a fire.  Hear portions of a fiery sermon, and Castle's off the cuff remarks about racism while he's driving a car.  The film concludes with footage of race riots from cities across the U.S.A.   COUSIN BOBBY is as much a treatise on racial injustice as it is a family reunion home movie.  The men shared DNA, and an activist spirit.  Note that Demme was an advocate for the Haitian people.

By now, mortality has claimed both men, and the world has been much poorer for that.