London Film Festival Day 2: Moonlight, A Monster Calls, Christine & More
2. 13th
Ava DuVernay's (Selma) searing documentary about the US Constitution’s 13th Amendment and its role in institutionally stacking the deck against black people is an immensely informative, angry and deeply disturbing look at the black American experience over the last 150 years.
Covering the inception of the Amendment (which ended formal slavery) onwards, DuVernay interviews prominent black figures to gain a well-rounded and incredibly unsettling picture of various processes (Jim Crow laws, the War on Drugs, media misrepresentation, unbalanced sentencing and much more) designed to cut the legs out from under blacks.
Though you may very well be aware of many of the movie's broader points, 13th manages to explore these concepts concisely within its 100-minute run-time, though sadly (but understandably) can't offer much of a solution for an extremely uncertain future.
Rating: A sure front-runner for the Best Documentary Oscar, 13th is a jaw-dropping history lesson and passionate call for change that is without question one of the year's most important films. And the cherry on top? It's available on Netflix right now. 8/10