Steven Spielberg’s multi Academy Award nominated film is the story of a black family’s growth and flowering over a 40 year period in the deep south starting around 1909. At the centre of everything is Celie, who as a young girl gives birth to two children and is then married into a life of virtual servitude to a man she can refer to only as Mr. (Danny Glover). Above all, this is a love story between Celie and her sister, Nettie, from whom she is separated at childhood. Allen Daviau’s beautiful photography is a treat to see on the big screen; this is also a welcome opportunity to revisit Whoopi Goldberg’s very impressive feature film debut.