Selma (5/5, Very good)

A compelling and thought-provoking film led by David Oyelowo who took the responsibility to portray a person who defied the establishment and cried out to the sky : "enough is enough".

This is a biopic of Martin Luther King. No much details are necessary to understand the fight that he led along with other black people to demand for equal civil rights. However every fight stumbles with violence. Luther King (very well portrayed by Oyelowo) made everything to keep his campaigns the most pacific. The balance is delicate especially in times where another black leader known as Malcolm X is more prone to radical campaigns. The film focuses in one of the most symbolic campaigns from Luther King: the demand for the right to vote for black people in the city of Selma, Alabama. It will be a great struggle, full of love and courage but surrounded by a threatening cold hate.

Directed by Ava duVernay (Middle of Nowhere) this film puts it's love and admiration to a man who was the face of millions of black people affected by racism and discrimination. Instead of putting a profound emphasis on Luther King's personal life, we assist more the Selma campaign and the matters involved in it. Nevertheless duVernay achieves to makes us feel close to King. We walk besides him and we suffer with him. But as he is the personification of millions of people, we suffer with the martyrs. Every hit with a stick is felt in our chest, every gun shot makes a hole in our soul. Thanks to duVernay, we can experience such events that way.

  Soundtrack is a masterpiece: a mix of old gospels songs whose voices cry for the martyrs but also beg for love and peace. The acting by Oyelowo is marvelous: he is Luther King. However he lacks the adequate acting support to shine much more. We reckon though that it is hard to put actors at the same level of quality. The script encompasses most of Selma's campaign and we have a glimpse of Luther King's complicated personal life (adultery, absent father). Considering it is the only (!!!) film about Luther King so far, we praise and we applaud that finally someone had the courage of telling a story with this incredibly inspiring man.