BlacKkKlansman

Confession: My Spike Lee knowledge is not really up to snuff. The last Spike Lee movie I saw was probably Inside Man back in 2006. Even without being a Spike Lee super fan I can appreciate that he’s been very important to film and I have a lot of respect for his work. And BlacKkKlansman has gotten a lot of hype so I said okay let’s give it a go. It’s based on the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a Colorado cop who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. He calls up the local chapter of the Klan and pretends he’s interested in joining. Since Stallworth is African American he is forced to partner up with fellow officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) who handles the in person meetings. Washington was amazing as Stallworth mixing comedic moments easily with the more intense scenes. Lee does a great job of creating parallels with the 1970’s civil rights movement and today’s continuation of that movement with Black Lives Matter. Some of the dialogue was instantly recognizable as rhetoric from today’s world which just proves the age old adage that the only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history.

Film or Movie: Film

You’ll like this film if:
1. You like Spike Lee
2. You like civil rights stories
3. You want to watch a film that engages heavily in race relations