the film teems with lived-in details from its rural Louisiana setting and springs to life whenever Wendell Pierce is onscreen.. The movie is tough going, but coming from a 19-year-old, it shows a startlingly expansive understanding of what movies can be
it's a film with powerful performances and narration; also very evocative and original, an intriguing debut for Phillip Youmans; "Burning Cane" would be an impressive debut at any age
it isn't a major work, yet it's a movie of minor fascinations and seductions; it exerts the pull of a natural-born filmmaker's eye; But in another way every moment in "Burning Cane" is of consequence --- the consequence of living and being
a compelling 78-minute snapshot of Southern poverty and grief, 19-year-old director Phillip Youmans' debut "Burning Cane" hovers in textures more than plot
