Travail "Dawn of a New Day" Movie Review

As most of you know, I love movies! Mostly horror movies, but even in the horror genre, a lot of my favorites are independent movies. They are more willing to take risks. Given that, recently I received an interesting request. I received an email from a man asking me to look at a trailer for a new independent movie. Simple enough. I checked it out, and was then asked to gather my thoughts on the trailer of the movie, no matter if they were good or bad. Now that was an interesting proposal; even if I didn't like the movie, he still wanted me to write a review. After all, publicity is publicity; even if it is bad publicity.

I know it is a little hard to write a complete review of a movie having only seen the trailer. I will admit that I haven't seen the movie yet. It isn't out yet. The trailer is fairly long, so it gives me a little more to work with than the standard movie trailers today, which are all explosions, partial nudity, and don't really reveal much about a movie.

To understand what this movie is about, let's look at the title of the movie. Travail is a word not often used today. I was unsure as to its meaning. Yeah, sometimes I am not that bright. I looked it up. Thank goodness for the vast information available on the internet. After seeing the trailer, the definition fits so perfectly, and describes the movie very well. Travail is defined as painfully difficult or burdensome work; toil; or pain, anguish or suffering resulting from mental or physical hardship. This describes some of the themes in the movie perfectly.

If you are a fan of conspiracy theory movies, such as The Da Vinci Code or The Matrix, you have to check out this movie. It is a dark, twisted look at the pursuit of 'The American Dream' and the corruption that great power brings with it.

What if everything that happened in the world was planned out to keep one group of people down? What if there really was a vast, global conspiracy to oppress and control the black population of the world? Would we even know it was going on?

This movie addresses such a conspiracy. The language is sometimes offensive, but then, reality is often pretty offensive. This movie takes great risks that major movie studios would never dare to take. And while I am not a huge fan of conspiracy theories, and would never purport to support the opinions that the movie offers, it does have a sense of realism that is truly captivating. While the ideas suggested in the movie are indeed possible, and I am sure there are people out there that wish it were so, I am in no place to validate any of it. I am just reviewing the trailer.

The cinematography in the movie absolutely pops, and gives the movie a gritty realism that is hard to ignore. It really is visually captivating. Add into that some decent acting by some great unknown actors, and what appears to be a truly compelling script, and you have what should be the recipe for a great movie.

I want to thank Raymond Deane for sending me the request to review the trailer for Travail. I have never received a request like that before. It was a great experience for me. I also look forward to seeing the movie in its entirety. And once I see the whole movie, I will be sure to come back here and add my full review of the movie. To anyone who does see the movie, I would love to hear what you have to say. Share your thoughts on the movie, the trailer, or my review.