🎬 Movie Review: American Skin

The life of Lincoln Jefferson, a veteran with two Iraq tours on his shoulder, takes a tragic turn while driving home with his 14 years old son, Kajani, as they are stopped by a police patrol for what was supposed to be a routine check in a residential neighborhood.

After noting that the car's assurance car was expired, the two police officers ask for Lincoln and Kajani to step out of the car. When Kajani refuses to stop filming the scene with his phone, tension escalates quickly and leads to the young boy's death.

More than 1 year later, the evidence against Mike Randall, the officer who shot Kajani, is declared not enough to lead to a trial and he's free to go back to work.

In the meantime, Lincoln is interviewed by Jordin, a college student who's majoring in cinema and wants to do a documentary about his story.

Little did Jordin and his 2 friends' crew knew what Lincoln was secretly organizing: to go to the precinct where officer Mike Randall works, take the whole office hostage, and set up a trial with the civilians (and some inmates as well) acting as a jury. Whether they'll judge officer Randall guilty of the murder of his son or not will define Randall's fate.

My Opinion👍👎

Winner of the 2019 Filming Italy Award at Venice Film Festival, this movie revolves around the unfair treatment the African American community has to endure when it comes to police brutality.

I honestly don't think the story is biased or exaggerated as we have all seen how still a present issue this is in the US. 

Lincoln is a man who has been through actual war and came back home just to see his beloved son be taken away merely because they were in the wrong neighborhood, at the wrong time, and with the wrong skin color.

One of the many iconic scenes in the movie is when Lincoln and Kajani discuss over a law saying that US citizens have the right to protest and react to an unfair arrest and it's seriously heartbreaking watching Lincoln explaining to his ideal driven son that this law doesn't apply to black people.

This movie is, along with "The Hate You Give", sad, enraging, and eye-opening. The dialogues and Lincoln's desperate decision to take an entire police office hostage just to have the trial and a sentence for his son's death are painful and extreme but thinking this is what black people have to face on a daily basis is even more hurtful and despicable.

I cannot even start to comprehend how tough black people's lives must be and that's why I'm so grateful for movies and books like this: they are a way to educate people on the issue and to make all of us think as to why a different skin color should make us feel threatened compared to another one.

It DOES NOT pass the Bechdel-Wallace test

1. There must be at least two women (and the names must be known) ❌

2. The women have to talk to each other ❌

3. The topic of conversation can be about anything except men ❌

Rating: 5/5

Ph: impawards.com