Home (2005-I) (NR)

synopsis

On a gang-controlled deadend street, Sheree Farmer is raising her six children alone. With the help of Mary Abernathy, a former fashion industry executive turned community activist, Sheree struggles to buy her first home and escape her violent and drug-infested Newark neighborhood. "Home" follows these two exceptional women in an intimate story that speaks to the future of America's cities. While working to qualify for a mortgage, Sheree has a fight with one of her daughters, Jalishah, and loses custody to her ex-husband Larry. An ex-con and former drug abuser, Larry beat Sheree brutally during their 15-year marriage. Sheree wants the house and, more importantly, she wants Jalishah back. But Sheree is scared and overwhelmed. What will happen if she goes to jail for hitting Jalishah? What if she can't handle being a homeowner? Throughout the film, and up until the very end, it is never clear whether Sheree will get the house or whether she will get her daughter back. Unflinching and surprisingly humorous, "Home" challenges how we think about race, class, and the American dream of homeownership.