Lovely, sad 'Last Black Man in San Francisco' is one of a kind

I've only visited San Francisco a couple of times, but I found both experiences transporting -- it really is such a distinct American city -- not just because of its unique hilly landscape or bohemian reputation or phenomenal food or even its complex cultural melange.

There is something else more ethereal that is hard to put into words, but which the new film -- The Last Black Man in San Francisco -- captures beautifully.

But part of what makes this very striking movie more profound is the fact that its grappling with a phenomenon that is plaguing several major American cities, including my own: the seeming inevitability of gentrification and the mixture of defiance and hopelessness it inspires.

This film operates at its own oddball pace with lots of humor, ambiguousness and gut wrenching drama. It's a very ambitious film and I suspect it will be a challenging one for some, especially since it's somewhat passive heroes are somewhat hard to penetrate (at first) and the narrative follows no conventional path.

It's easy to project other directors' influences on this film -- Terrence Malik, Barry Jenkins, Jim Jarmusch -- but as the movie unfolded, I found myself deducing that director Joe Talbot (who I was shocked to learn is a white man, since his film is so nuanced and sensitive around issues of race) was simply in a class by himself. He is a filmmaker to watch to be sure.

His film is not simply a screed against gentrification, but what it does is put poignant faces and families who bear the brunt of it front and center and it doesn't flinch away from portraying how painful being displaced in your own hometown can be.

At one key moment -- the nominal lead of the film -- Jimmie Fails (which is also the real life name of the actor who plays him) tells some snooty interlopers that you aren't allowed to hate a city unless you love it first.

And that's a sentiment that anyone living in a big city can wholeheartedly understand and cling to.

There's a feeling of things slipping away throughout the film -- but it's not a depressing slog. It's frequently surprising and often very funny, even if the humor isn't as accessible as it was in a similarly anti-establishment film like Sorry to Bother You.

I have no idea if a film like this will find an audience or could, but what it will be no matter how its received is a indelible snapshot of a city on the verge of completely whitewashing its past and its flawed to be sure but still very special characters.

Talbot, a fifth generation, resident of the city -- clearly knows how to capture the city's beauty and rough edges. The movie is gorgeously composed and set to an immersive score that can be intoxicating at times.

Hopefully, it's a movie that can hang around and be remembered around awards season, It was clearly crafted with a lot of love and passion and I can see it inspiring those kinds of feelings in others.