BLACKKKKLANSMAN

Warning: May contain spoilers

I went to see Blackkklansman (not sure about the number of k's in the name) expecting something outrageous and dark from Spike Lee and wasn't disappointed, although I encountered something different to what I was expecting.

Spike Lee has previously written and directed several movies in which he touches on racial inequalities in America. His most notorious one being (in my opinion) "Malcolm X" where he brought to life the controversial and in your face black activist of the 60's. I think by the way that this is also Denzel Washington's best performance of his career.

The story revolves around true events which took place in the 1.970's when Ron Stallworth became the first black policeman in Colorado Springs. This fact alone created a racial tension which was maintained throughout the film as not everyone in the police force was accepting of this change.

Ron Stallworht manages to get in touch, exclusively by phone, with the local KKK leader in the area, David Duke (played by Topher Grace) and gains his confidence to a degree that Duke wants to meet him thinking he's as white as himself. When it was time to meet face to face the police needed a white man to play the role of Ron Stallworth and assign the mission to Flip Zimmerman (played by Adam Driver) who happens to be Jewish. So, the plot couldn't get any better: a Jewish guy impersonating a black man who pretends to be white in front of a KKK leader. 

This is in summary the plot. Spike Lee took several liberties including making the policeman impersonating Stallworth being Jewish, which he wasn't. Do we forgive him for doing so? I don't know if I could. Granted, when I saw the movie I thought this was hilarious but, why call it a true story then?  Fact changing for "artistic reasons" has always annoyed me. Lee also included a change in the timeline, placing the film in 1972 instead of 1979. I guess he badly wanted afros in the movie. Also, and probably more controversial, was the inclusion of a bombing which is totally unrelated to the real story. Dramatic effect? This was a totally fictionalized movie with a few specks of reality included. I would have thought better of the film had this been labeled as fiction.

During the development part of the film Stallworth meets Patrice Dumas, a Black Power activist who hates cops and calls them "pigs" as any self respecting activist in the 60's did. Stallworth is a cop and decides to hide this from his beloved Patrice.

The story unravels and of course it all blows out during a KKK convention leading to the inevitable arrest of the KKK leaders and a bombing (the one which never took place). Also, as you could imagine, Patrice finds out Ron is a pig and breaks out with him only to get together at the end like in any romantic comedy.

This is the trick: When I saw the movie I didn't know any of these facts and accepted them as real. This made me enjoy this film due to the incredible story; a brilliant script; a perfect combination of humor and drama and great performances by John David Washington as Ron Stallworth and Adam Driver as Flip Zimmerman.

Spike Lee manages to combine all these elements to make a highly enjoyable movie of a different kind. Anti-racism propaganda filled with great jokes and high drama, as opposed to his "Malcolm X" which was a powerful no holds barred attack on racism in America.

So, in the end, I recommend this movie for it's unique approach to the awareness of racial issues in America. This is, if you don't have an issue with fact-twisting.

This is, at least, my opinion. And I might be wrong.