The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Dir. Joe Talbot
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a tender, poetic love letter to a city that no longer exists—and a quiet elegy for the people pushed out of it. It’s one of those rare films that feels both intimate and historically significant, especially when you consider how many Black and brown communities have been displaced from the Bay Area by gentrification. The film captures that loss with a softness that hits harder than any blunt social commentary.
Jimmie Fails gives a beautifully understated performance as a man trying to reclaim his family home, clinging to a piece of history even as the city transforms around him. Jonathan Majors is extraordinary, bringing a soulful vulnerability that deepens every scene they share. Their friendship is the emotional anchor—gentle, strange, and deeply human.
Visually, the film is stunning. Wide, dreamy shots of San Francisco make the city feel mythical, which only sharpens the heartbreak of watching it slip away. The pacing is unhurried, but intentionally so; it lets the emotion bloom slowly, like a memory you’re trying not to forget.
What makes the film resonate is its empathy. It doesn’t preach. It simply observes, mourns, and celebrates. It’s cute and heartfelt, but also quietly enraged—the kind of rage that comes from love, not bitterness.
A beautiful, aching portrait of belonging, loss, and the fragile places we call home. It’s one of the most soulful films of the last decade.
