Ava DuVernay's Selma packs a powerful punch, yet its impact is delivered with such finesse and grace that it might seem at first less impressive than it really is, its effects felt much later after you walk away from the theatre.
The film reenacts the events of 1965 involving a series of marches and protests surrounding the voting rights in the Southern U.S. The story focuses on the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams, James Bevel, John Lewis and many others, men and women who will be forever remembered for their pivotal role in the American civil rights movement. Facing cultural practices that had reigned for hundreds of years, these individuals stood in front of the line, staring straight into the faces of those who would do them all harm to bring about something as ineffable yet fundamental as the notion of "justice."
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This is an excerpt from our original review, published in connection with the film's limited opening. You can read the entire review right here. Selma is now playing in select theatres ; it expands wide across North America on Friday, January 9.