Cinephile № 1,020 “A Thousand and One”

Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME

Plot: “After unapologetic and fiercely loyal Inez kidnaps her son Terry from the foster care system, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.” -IMDB

Review: Inez de la Paz (Teyana Taylor) has a complicated past and a secret she is keeping from the world. Around the roadblocks and across the burned bridges of her life, her past and this secret will meet in one of the most emotionally raw and gripping stories I have ever seen centered on a mother and son.

When we first meet Inez, she is finishing a prison stay on Rikers Island. How she got here is not important. All that matters is the road before her. Will this road be the fresh start she is seeking, or will it lead back to prison, becoming another sad recidivism statistic?

Determined, she leaves Rikers seeking purpose and a positive outlet. Hoping to open her own salon and to reconnect with her son, Terry, the future seems bright. Pounding the pavement, spreading the news of her business, she crosses paths with Terry for the first time since being released. At six years old, we find the young boy with friends outside of a familiar group home.