A FILM EDUCATION
An impactful feature debut for Melina Matsoukas. Dreamy, euphoric, raw yet stylized: Queen & Slim comments on romance, police brutality, and the complexity of race relations. This film is authentic down to the baby blue cars, the red velvet tracksuits, and the sparkly lingerie. The story follows in the footsteps of the traditional Thelma and Louise or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but its focus on racial inequalities makes it so unique. Elite soundtrack by Devonté Hynes, a strong female director, and a cast full of raw talent (Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith… undeniable chemistry)… Queen & Slim is a must watch.
In 13th, Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States. The documentary focuses on the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution that outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude “except as a punishment for crime.” DuVernay also directed both “Selma” and “When They See Us,” two incredibly powerful commentaries on black history. DuVernay’s lens changes the narrative around historical events. In this film, she focuses on mass incarceration as modern day slavery, disproportionately affecting blacks. While watching 13th, DuVernay urges the audience to “look at their belief systems and behavior and possibly be inspired enough to be moved.”
Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing is a racially charged classic. “Over the course of a single day, the easygoing interactions of a cast of unforgettable characters—Da Mayor, Mother Sister, Mister Señor Love Daddy, Tina, Sweet Dick Willie, Buggin Out, Radio Raheem, Sal, Pino, Vito, and Lee’s Mookie among them—give way to heated confrontations as tensions rise along racial fault lines, ultimately exploding into violence.”
The American Film Institute has announced that AFI Movie Club is partnering with Universal Pictures to offer free rentals of the film, and they are hosting an online conversation with the Academy Award-winning writer/director!
With time, the film’s commentary only becomes more poignant. Click here to watch Spike Lee explain the film’s relevancy in 2019.
24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot. A story of the racial inequalities embedded within communities... the past is sadly the present. The purest example of art from the past that continues to expose the cracks within society. Eerily relevant. Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 message to society today… reminding us that nothing has changed. A striking line… “It’s about a society on its way down. And as it falls, it keeps telling itself: “So far so good.... So far so good... so far so good.” It’s not how you fall that matters. It’s how you land.”