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All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt marks the artistic vision of Raven Jackson in her directorial debut. Distributed by A24 and produced by Barry Jenkins, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt tells the story of a woman’s life, Mack, spanning across multiple decades as the woman recalls these moments as her stream of consciousness. Like a poem it serves to honor the moments that shape us through the people and places we encounter throughout our lives. Through its nonlinear structure, Jackson brings her audience alongside Mack in order to savor the dirt on the side of road that has remained a constant throughout her life.

What’s impressive about Jackson is her fearlessness to let her film speak for itself without dialogue. Like strolling along the road, the film moves at a leisurely place, not in a hurry to reach its final destination. The diegetic sounds of Mississippi transports the viewer into the humid atmosphere of Mack’s world. Jackson is unafraid to let shots linger while dialogue is happening offscreen, or letting silence fill up the space. There in the silence you find the longing, the regret… everything that was left unsaid about the choices Mack has made throughout her life. 

Speaking of Mack, all three actresses who portray her— Charleen McClure, Zainab Jah, and Kaylee Nicole Johnson— need to be applauded for their talent on display. Through these three actresses, Mack’s story comes to life. The audience is experiencing Mack’s life the way she’s choosing to show us; it’s her expressions of curiosity, regret, and love that communicate the story of her childhood into adulthood.

While it’s through Mack’s eyes we experience her life, audiences also get a glimpse into the lives of the women who shaped her: her mother Evelyn, played by Sheila Atim, and her younger sister Josie, played by Jayah Henry and Moses Ingram. Atim, in particular, gives Evelyn a vibrancy to her that lingers long after she disappears from the frame. On the other hand, Ingram brings a steady presence to the adult Josie, anchoring a pivotal scene between her and McClure that changes the trajectory of both their lives.

This tone poem doesn’t dance across a screen like what you might find from a Terrence Malick, or filled with an orchestra. Instead, you’ll find the striking cinematography of Jomo Fray that forces you to focus on what’s in front of you in order to fill in the gaps. Fray is unafraid to stay with shot even after characters leave the frame. Most details of the story are not outright said, but rather picked up and discovered. When a new revelation makes itself known, it almost feels like discovering a gemstone along the gravel road. 

Ardath Rodale has this beautiful line about the history our hands hold in her book, Everyday Miracles: “Please look at your hands. They are a history book of where you’ve been and everything you’ve touched and worked for.” All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt embodies this as so much of the visual language of it focuses on the hands of characters. There might be some light dialogue just offscreen, but the attention remains on the hands that hold Mack’s story. The texture of Mack’s life is found in the grooves like calluses on your hands. With the film’s nonlinear structure, you see how her life is shaped from the things that she holds on to, forced to let go, or even chooses to let go of. For instance, there’s a moving scene where she’s tearfully hugging Wood as an adult, followed by seeing their first romantic embrace as teenagers. The audience is hit with these layers seemingly all at once, a true feat of skill on display. 

There’s much about this film to respect from a technical and narrative perspective. I do think knowing there’s a lack of dialogue in this artistic project prior to viewing will help enhance the experience of it. Otherwise, there’s a risk of falling from its grip and getting lost on the side of the road, which is what happened to me as I watched it. Once I got into the groove of this particular style of narrative structure, I was able to better embrace Mack’s story and the heartbreak that came along with it. 

Overall, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a striking directorial debut from Raven Jackson. Like putting together a quilt, she sews together the seemingly mundane in order to create beauty out of Mack’s life. Based on the assertive attitude and decisive vision on display, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt could very well be the genesis of a new auteur. 

Grade: B+

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay

Where to Watch: In Theaters