- Year: 2019
- Country: USA
- Director: Melina Matsoukas
- Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith
Art can make us face the reality of the world we are living in, and sometimes be a better vehicle than real life: what we see on the news and social media is constant and depressing and shocking, making us blasé in our privilege. And then a film such as this serves as a mirror, and through fiction we can perhaps get a better understanding of what is going on and how revolting certain aspects of our society are. In that sense, it sucks that a movie like Queen & Slim even has to exist. But it does and it’s a damn fine film. The story of a black couple on a first date who, through a turn of events end up running from the law after shooting a white police officer in self-defense. Social media turns them into outlaw heroes after the video of the incident gets posted online while they attempt to head south and flee to Cuba. It’s a great but imperfect film – its truth and its passion carries our two leads through. Nothing here is glamorized or stylized – the charm of the film is between Queen and Slim’s incredible chemistry – and the camera work is gorgeous. Finishing the movie, all I could think of was the hope that maybe some day we will watch this film and it won’t seem like it reflects our reality anymore. Pretty powerful stuff.
Cinema Del Peppel 