Ryder Strong

Yeah, I really liked this film.

You know, again, taking a snapshot of something so important and showing it through the eyes of a child.

I've now said that a number of times.

But it's true because you forget all the people that are experiencing everything going on.

So, yeah, really amazing.

And this is one of the few movies, again, because... And I did the same thing with Color of Friendship, where...

I'm pausing the movie and Googling the people in the movie.

Like I'm seriously trying to deep dive the characters because I knew it's based on true events.

What's this person doing now?

What's that person doing now?

How close is it to the actual story?

And we're going to get into some of that because pretty amazing.

The director is a pioneer of African American cinema, Charles Burnett.

He even received an honorary award from the Academy in 2017 for being, quote, chronicling the lives of black Americans with eloquence and insight, unquote.

The South Central L.A.

native graduated from UCLA and helped start a movement called the L.A.

Rebellion, rejecting studio stereotypes and instead portraying everyday African American life.

with realism and humanism.

His senior thesis movie, Killer of Sheep, was made for under $10,000 and is now considered a landmark of American independent cinema and black filmmaking.

Named one of the 100 essential films of all time by Time Magazine, and his 1990 movie, To Sleep With Angels, starring Danny Glover, is also considered a masterpiece.