Ashely Square Cinema screened "Fruitvale Station" last Monday, an award winning film that claimed a Sundance Film Festival grand jury prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film award.
The film is based on the true life of Oscar Grant and opens with actual cell phone footage of a scene in a train station: police officers stand screaming over a huddle of black youth and proceed to arrest them. While handcuffed and thrown on the ground, one of the youths is shot in the back by an officer.
The story then flashes back in time to begin following Oscar during his last day on earth.
Oscar is played by Michael B. Jordan, and his attentiveness to the roll is phenomenal. His acting mixed with the small details of his dress and movements make for a believable and perfect portrayal of a youth in Oakland, Calif., where the story takes place.
The really moving part of the film is delivered not by an experienced actor, but by one of a mere five-years-old.
Ariana Neal plays Tatiana, Oscar's daughter. The film was only her second role and her first as a major character.
Since the film warns the viewer from the first scene that the Oscar will be killed off by the end, Neal's character's existence is much more heartbreaking.
The film ends much like it began: the same scene and same station as in the cell footage. But this time, the actors reenact the scene and show in greater detail what happens to Oscar.
After this, the film cuts to a rally where the real life Tatiana is speaking against the criminalization of black and Latino youth in areas such as Oakland.
With all the issues surrounding race that have been surfacing on campus in previous weeks, the film's premiere couldn't have come to campus at a better time.
"Fruitvale Station's" main theme goes indepth about what Victor Rios touched on last week in his lecture: the policing and punishing of colored youths.
The movie's underlying theme struck the heartstrings and gave an insight to those who may have never experienced these types of neighborhoods or this type of criminalization.
I will say the movie did a good job of showing the bad guy, in this case the police. One critique I have is that the movie only showed the flaws in the police force, making it seem like all police officers are cruel.
Regardless, "Frutivale Station" got its point across and started a fire within me and I'm sure within many more viewers.
What really lit the fires came in the rolling credits at the end. The credits revealed the amount of jail time the officer who shot Oscar received: less than one year.
The point of the movie was to show people the horrifying reality that exists in these communities and to get people informed and involved. Though some of the actions of both police and youth were dramatized, it was done so in a tasteful way that made people, including myself, want to make a change.
The final scene of the film is Tatiana and her mother in the shower. She asks when her dad will be home. Her mother, not knowing how to respond, simply doesn't. It cuts off and leaves the audience with no answer and tears in their eyes.