Selma

Has anyone else seen it yet? I saw it last night and it really is as good as you kind of assume such a film to be. Also surprisingly violent - not that I didn't expect to see violence but not quite as brutally shot. It needed to be, don't get me wrong, but it really took me by surprise. Some stunning acting of course, and there's this scene with this 80 yearold man that is so moving and so impressive.

Plus the ridiculous timing of this film with Ferguson happening and the continued issues of Voter ID laws in the States . . . it's just . . . it's a lot to think about.

Also it was directed by a Canadian woman which of course I think is totally fantastic.

Anyway, yeah? Anyone have any thoughts?

Powerful to say the least. I guess I assumed people knew what it was about because of all the nominations it got at the Golden Globes and the Best Picture nom for the Oscars but for those who are curious:

SELMA is about the protests led by Martin Luther King Jr that took place in Selma, Alabama in 1964. I knew little of the story, but it was an international issue, my parents evidently protested in Toronto about it (in favour of the protests and against those trying to stop them - just to be clear). The protests were working to change voting restriction laws that basically meant that African Americans, even though they technically had the right to vote, were prevented from voting. So a pretty timely issue even now. But it also has a lot in common with Ferguson, with the police taking on protesters and the violence that comes from that.

The performances are stunning and the story very human. MLK is seen as a real person, not a god, and is fallible. It's really really compelling stuff.