BlacKkKlansman
Anyone seen this? I heard about this movie on NPR and decided to check it out. Wow! It's a great, well told story that pulls a lot of discreet threads together. As an aside from the main story of a black cop infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan it also references racist media of yesteryear like Gone With the Wind and Birth of a Nation. There are several moments that wink at Donald Trump's talking points and policies. There was a lot of reaction from the predominantly black crowd I was in, the connection was certainly noticed.
And the end! Wow. Almost had me in tears, really brought me back to a year ago when I saw the Vice News on Charlottesville. I was in a theater in Richmond, VA about an hour from Charlottesville. You could have heard a pin drop right when the movie ended. I've never seen so many people get gut punched like that all at once. The timing of this movie was absolutely well thought out.
Great movie. Very powerful stuff. Funny too! (except for the very serious part at the end)
For those of you who haven't heard (and I don't think I am spoiling anything by writing this), the last few minutes of the film features a montage of footage from last year's Charlottesville debacle. There is a moment of silence between the end of that montage and the beginning of the closing credits.
The feeling of shock and discomfort among the (admittedly Canadian) audience was palpable. Even though the movie was over, you could have heard a pin drop in there.
Saw it a couple of hours ago and I'm still stunned. Some people in my theater were crying at the end. One man who looked to be in his 50s was standing outside the theater sobbing after it was over.