Sundance review: 'All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt' is a beautiful, if narratively oblique, memory play of a Black woman in rural Mississippi

Writer-director Raven Jackson’s immersive drama “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” is steeped in its Mississippi atmosphere and the chords of one woman’s memory. It’s beautiful, but also a movie that a viewer has to meet halfway.

The central figure is Mackenzie (Charleen McClure), or Mac, a Black woman in rural Mississippi. We see her life from teenager to old woman — but not necessarily in order. Jackson’s nonlinear narrative is sorted by how she remembers different parts of her life.

There are moments where she’s learning fishing from her father (Chris Chalk), and learning how to clean fish from her mother (Sheila Atim). There are moments with her sister, and moments with a young man. Sometimes, as a reunion with that young man, the moments stretch out for a a painfully long time — with and close-up shots of an extended embrace, and little dialogue because the silence speaks volumes. 

Because Jackson doesn’t place events in an obviously digestible order, it takes some time for the viewer to tune in to the movie’s wavelength. But give it time, and the brain starts to find the connections between different passages in Mac’s life — which includes moments of joy, longing, grief, sacrifice and heartbreak. These are intercut with more sensory experiences, like the feel of mud in one’s fingers or rain on one’s back.

As the title implies, “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” is about wisdom, passed down through generations, and how that past connects to our present. Jackson captures those moments beautifully, and trusts the audience to connect the dots. 

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‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’

★★★

Playing in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Screens again on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m., Redstone Cinemas, Park City; Wednesday, Jan. 25, 9 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, Salt Lake City; Thursday, Jan. 26, 6:15 p.m., Eccles Theatre, Park City; Friday, Jan. 27, 6 p.m., Screening Room, Sundance Mountain Resort. Also screening online on the Sundance Film Festival platform, starting Tuesday, Jan. 24. Not rated, but probably R for nudity and some disturbing images. Running time: 97 minutes.