Year: 2018
Director: Spike Lee
Country: US
Language: English
Spike Lee's BlacKKKlansman is a return to form for the outspoken director known for making powerful pictures about influential African Americans. By no coincidence this picture arrived during a timultuous time in America; where white supremacist rallies show up in Charlottesville & President Donald Trump refuses to disavow his racist following, saying (I'm paraphrasing here) "Well, both sides are equally bad"
Ron Stallworth (John Washington), an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate (Adam Driver) who eventually becomes its leader.
Spike Leeee and cinematographer Chayse Irvin shot on 35mm film stock and gave the image a grainy, ’70s-style color palette, making the picture feel like a gritty police drama. Through editing, split-screens, and sometimes tongue-in-cheek asides, Lee also gives his picture a more modern flair. It is both arthouse and mainstream, both an intellectual think-piece as will as popcorn entertainment.
Winning the Grand Prix at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, BlacKKKlansman has an incredible balance of humour and gritty drama, which pack a remarkably powerful punch. If you didn't "get" why white nationalism is a big deal, then this picture will help you understand. While Lee seeks to tell the story of Stallworth, I appreciate that he takes his time and allows us to soak in grand speeches about people who are tired of being oppressed by white Americans.
BlacKKKlansman is one of my favourite films of 2018 and I definitley recommend it to all sides of the political spectrum. Hopefully it will englighten intolerant minds and/or give a voice to those who need it most.
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