L
he Civil War is over. African-Americans are freed, but social tensions remain high. While employees must now be paid, planters are struggling to prosper. Jean, heir to a plot, had two children: Lazarre with a slave, then a second, Louise, with a mixed race of respectable ancestry. The first is very dark, while his half-sister has a Caucasian complexion. Their fates will be very different. This third volume of Louisiana, The Color of Blood completes the saga of a French family established in New Orleans.
The exercise of power is at the heart of Léa Chrétien’s project. Although the screenwriter discusses racism extensively, it is above all a question of the emancipation of women. The latter also pull all the strings, while their husbands are systematically portrayed as weak, violent and depraved beings. The female characters have more depth, notably Laurette, the matriarch, whose soul is revealed to be less pure than it initially seemed. Her granddaughter, despite noble intentions, turns her back on her clan.
In the end, beyond the good words of its protagonists, the author demonstrates that everyone is selfish and is quick to forget their principles if it allows them to achieve personal goals. The outcome, particularly successful, reveals all the hypocrisy of American society where discrimination continues to rage.
Gontran Toussaint offers a realistic drawing of good quality and takes care of the decorations. It happens however that the aspect of its actors varies from one box to another; a face suddenly looks round, when it usually isn’t. It is also difficult to understand how the heroine, represented with a dark complexion, manages without difficulty to pass for a white.
A large-scale fresco on a social structure initiating a vast transformation.
Par J.Milette