Any significant milestone is an opportunity for reflection on the road thus travelled. The 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Jamaican movie, The Harder They Come, is no different.

The 1972 film, co-written by Perry Henzell and Trevor Rhone, directed and produced by Henzell, featured reggae star Jimmy Cliff. It shared the gritty story of a wannabe music act who must navigate the underbelly of city life to get what he wants.

For film-maker Storm Saulter, whose credits include Better Mus’ Come and Sprinter, The Harder They Come is that benchmark when measuring the impact of a locally- produced film for the international market.

“The Harder They Come is significant on so many levels. For one, it opened the world of film-making to Jamaicans. We are able to see that a Jamaican story that was locally produced and directed can be translated to a global audience over all these years. This tells all the succeeding generations that if it could be done then, we can definitely do it again… it is possible. Jamaicans have always shown that they punch way above, outweigh class in so many areas and this is yet another example,” he said.

“On another level it showcased some of our talents who were yet to make it in film or theatre and music. The Harder They Come and its success gave them that launch pad from which they could take off. When you look at a young Volier Johnson who went on to make a name for himself on stage, television and film; let’s not even mention Jimmy Cliff. Then there was the music. The Harder They Come came at such a great time for reggae music that the soundtrack was just an amazing tool to market this music from Jamaica,” Saulter continued.

The film has impacted Saulter’s work. Before he made his first film, Better Mus’ Come, he called on Henzell, who died in 2006, for advice.

“Perry gave me some of the greatest advice when I was making the film. Like him, I had chosen to utilise some non-actors and first-time film actors and during the editing process there were a few scenes that I wasn’t pleased with. I called him and shared this with him and asked what do I do. He simply said,’wherever you cringe, you cut’. That was so eye-opening for me. As creatives, we sometimes become so attached to our work that we are afraid to edit, not realising that if we are uncomfortable with a scene or something in the film, then chances are the audience will be uncomfortable as well,” he said.

There are parallels between The Harder They Come and Better Mus’ Come which was released in 2010. The latter is also set in 1970s Jamaica and follows warring political factions who enlist the support of gangs to enforce their policies, and advance their political agenda.

It is a fictionalised take on historical events, specifically the Green Bay massacre, in which persons purported to be supporters of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party were killed in 1978 at a firing range in Port Henderson, St Catherine, during an alleged shootout with armed forces.

Saulter noted that the similarities are coincidental.

“If anything they are subconscious. The use of non-actors, the final scenes being on a beach, the inner-city setting all became more pronounced to me once we had completed. So, if anything they were included subconsciously and definitely not deliberate,” he said.

Over the years there has been a call for a sequel to The Harder They Come. If given the opportunity to craft this follow-up, Saulter said he would definitely modernise the story.

“If I had done the original, I would have made Ivan escape to Cuba. I understand how that flies against classical storytelling but that’s where I would have gone; as for a sequel I would definitely make it a modern-day tale. I would bring in some relative of Ivan to pick up the story and have some connection to the past. Have him emerge from the dark side to claim what Ivan was denied. Jamaica is always full of stories and we have all the necessary elements to create great stories, so it is indeed possible,” Saulter stated.