Mini Review #126: Mississippi Burning (1988) (Patreon)

This was a recommendation by Jonathan and the UNCUT reaction will be available to everyone on Patreon and much earlier than the edited Youtube reaction I plan to do for this film.

I don't really have much to say about this film. It was incredibly powerful and left me pretty speechless at the end and so I am still wrapping my head around my thoughts as I write this review. The film depicted the civil rights movement and the segregation between White and Black people in a small Mississippi town very well. The brutality and horrible nature of this conflict was not shied away from and there were many moments that left me feeling very uncomfortable. The movie also had so many great transitions where something incredibly horrible would happen to a Black person and the instantly cut to a White person saying "everything is fine". The sheer ignorance of many of the townsfolk amazed me. I was also very interested in how the movie depicted religion as the backbone of all this hatred. It never mentions it outright but from the burning churches and crosses, to people hating others because they are not Christian, it seemed pretty obvious that many of the beliefs came from religious contexts. That's about as much of that conversation as I will have here as it can be a touchy subject for some and I am not quite sure how to frame this conversation around respecting religion and critically analyzing it yet. Besides all this stuff, the cinematography and directing was outstanding. From the first shot to the last there were some very memorable and powerful moments. As well, the score was great and also reminded me of the Truman Show a lot. Seriously, go listen to the part of the Truman show score where he first finds out the world is a lie and tell me they don't sound the same. Thank you again Jonathan for recommending this film!