4 Little Girls
3/4
Not Rated (contains violent content and grisly images)
At 10:22 am on the morning of September 15th, 1963, an explosion tore a hole in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young girls, Addie Mae Collins, aged 14, Denise McNair, aged 11, Carole Robertson, aged 14, and Cynthia Wesley, aged 14, were killed. The event was a powderkeg for the nation and the world. Up until that point, the northern United States viewed the racial unrest at the desegregation orders from the government as a phase. But in the words of Walter Cronkhite, it was only after this bombing that everyone realized how deep the hatred was.
For director Spike Lee, whose films frequently revolve around race relations, this was a long-time passion project. He'd been wanting to make this film since 1983, when he read an article about the bombing. Lee has made a number of films regarding race relations, including "Malcolm X" (which, at his insistence, he took over from Norman Jewison), the critically acclaimed "Do the Right Thing," and "Mo' Better Blues." Here, he has created a documentary about this terrible event, but the limitations of the medium prevent it from exhibiting the power that the story truly deserves.
It is here that I should say that I am not the world's biggest documentary fan. The use of talking heads, photographs and archive footage automatically limit emotional attatchment (it's the "showing rather than telling" rule). This is especially true in the case where the subjects cannot speak for themselves, which is the case here. We hear the families and friends of the four girls speak about them, but it's not the same thing. Despite Lee's best attempts, Addie Mae, Denise, Carole and Cynthia do not come alive in our minds. Documentaries can be effective pieces of filmmaking with the right approach and the right amount of skill (I liked "Man on Wire" and "Taxi to the Dark Side")
The film's structure is also a little odd. Lee gives backstories (none of which are particularly deep) to the girls at random moments (fortunately, each story is told all at once). I think it might have served the film a little better had he shown them all at the beginning and then gone into the historical backdrop.
Despite this, I do recommend the film be seen. It's a powerful story and one that needs to be told. It introduces the players and presents a historical backdrop that sets the stage for the main event. It does what it sets out to do. If it doesn't do it in a perfect way, well, see it anyway.
Not Rated (contains violent content and grisly images)
At 10:22 am on the morning of September 15th, 1963, an explosion tore a hole in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young girls, Addie Mae Collins, aged 14, Denise McNair, aged 11, Carole Robertson, aged 14, and Cynthia Wesley, aged 14, were killed. The event was a powderkeg for the nation and the world. Up until that point, the northern United States viewed the racial unrest at the desegregation orders from the government as a phase. But in the words of Walter Cronkhite, it was only after this bombing that everyone realized how deep the hatred was.
For director Spike Lee, whose films frequently revolve around race relations, this was a long-time passion project. He'd been wanting to make this film since 1983, when he read an article about the bombing. Lee has made a number of films regarding race relations, including "Malcolm X" (which, at his insistence, he took over from Norman Jewison), the critically acclaimed "Do the Right Thing," and "Mo' Better Blues." Here, he has created a documentary about this terrible event, but the limitations of the medium prevent it from exhibiting the power that the story truly deserves.
It is here that I should say that I am not the world's biggest documentary fan. The use of talking heads, photographs and archive footage automatically limit emotional attatchment (it's the "showing rather than telling" rule). This is especially true in the case where the subjects cannot speak for themselves, which is the case here. We hear the families and friends of the four girls speak about them, but it's not the same thing. Despite Lee's best attempts, Addie Mae, Denise, Carole and Cynthia do not come alive in our minds. Documentaries can be effective pieces of filmmaking with the right approach and the right amount of skill (I liked "Man on Wire" and "Taxi to the Dark Side")
The film's structure is also a little odd. Lee gives backstories (none of which are particularly deep) to the girls at random moments (fortunately, each story is told all at once). I think it might have served the film a little better had he shown them all at the beginning and then gone into the historical backdrop.
Despite this, I do recommend the film be seen. It's a powerful story and one that needs to be told. It introduces the players and presents a historical backdrop that sets the stage for the main event. It does what it sets out to do. If it doesn't do it in a perfect way, well, see it anyway.
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