Life might have stopped, but good movies keep on coming
JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE
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Since this documentary was released, John Lewis has now passed. That means there’s even more reason to relive this man’s life and soak in a story that runs alongside the currents of history over these last several decades. Literally no one was more enmeshed with the Civil Rights Movement than John Lewis, a fact that sometimes got lost with his longtime service in the House of Representatives. Going back to a young man from Troy, Alabama taking on the powers that be is both inspiring and makes for a great story. Now more than ever, viewers should soak up the life and legacy of this man, and maybe even get into some “good trouble” themselves.
RIVER CITY DRUMBEAT
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This is one of those documentaries where the purported subject doesn’t do justice to the larger story it tells. Ostensibly about a youth drum corps in Louisville, River City Drumbeat tells the story of black people in that city–and any American city, really–as ordinary people seeking to not just survive but thrive, in this case through the arts. From a long-time director to his successor and all of the students they oversee, this program of drums is a program of life. It’s the proverbial flower growing out of the concrete, seeing life flourish amidst the hardscrabble environs of poverty and racism. River City Drumbeat might just be the cure for the blues of these troubled times.
THE FIGHT
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That the ACLU has had their hands full in the era of Trump is no surprise, but that doesn’t make the stories in The Fight any less compelling. This is real David v. Goliath stuff here. Touching on some of the biggest headlines from the past few years, this documentary goes behind the scenes and shows the emotion, the drive, and the sometimes tedious nature of the fight for justice when injustice abounds. The fact that these are lawyers you might actually like to hang out with doesn’t hurt.
THE LAST TREE
Watch on Vimeo, supporting Austin Film Society
The Black Live Matter movement might be sweeping the U.S., but racial issues and especially the struggle of young black men is a tale that can be told around the world. In this case it’s London by way of Lagos as a Nigerian immigrant tries to keep his head up in 1990’s England. There’s definitely a bit of Moonlight here, but with less sexual exploration and more songs from The Cure, bruv. The trauma of bad parenting and the pressures of street life combine to put young and younger Femi (Samuel Adewunmi and Tai Golding) through the ringer. His resilience becomes a tangible thing by film’s end.