‘Detroit’ an unsettling look at the past
In 1967, a police raid in Detroit, Michigan resulted in one of the largest race riots in U.S. history.
“Detroit”, which makes its debut in town this weekend, tells the true story that seems as relevant today as it did 50 years ago. With a strong, young cast, including John Boyega (“Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens”), this timely, gritty, true story is sure to cause you to think, and leave you feeling a little uncomfortable.
At 143 minutes, it runs a little longer than most summer movies. It is rated 14A with a coarse language, brutal violence, and mature subject matter warning. It will play nightly at 6:35 and 9:25 p.m.
“On July 23, 1967, police raided an illegal after-hours bar (a "blind pig") on Detroit’s Near West Side. This sparked riots that, as one character in the film notes, exceeded the destruction of the 1943 Detroit clashes between police and African-American citizens. The film is set primarily during the rioting that enveloped that city in the summer of 1967. Amidst the chaos of the Detroit Rebellion, with the city under curfew and as the Michigan National Guard patrolled the streets, three young African American men were murdered at the Algiers Motel. The events are well known in some circles, less so in others. The excruciating centrepiece of "Detroit" concerns what happened at the Algiers Motel, an 11-dollar-a-night dive, home to hookers and johns and all kinds of transients. A group of officers, mistaking a starter’s pistol for sniper fire, turned against innocent suspects in a show of outlandish, illegal force.” — Official site.
Acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow (Oscar winning “The Hurt Locker”) presents a graphic/brutal look at two aspects of life during the emergency conditions: the dayto-day nature of working-class black life and the actions of white supremacists.
One can’t help but wonder how conditions like the ones presented could manifest in a “civilized” country.
And yet, one needs only look to the news of recent weeks to see that emotions continue to run high, and inexplicable actions by human beings are still being perpetuated in modern times. See you at the movie theatre! Please feel free to contact me with your comments or feedback — even an idea for an article — len@moviemill.com. Hope to see you at the movies!