Rosewood (1997)

A shameful chapter in American history is powerfully dramatized in Rosewood, but moviegoers in 1997 may not have been ready for the African American equivalent of Schindler's List. And while the massacre that occurred in the nearly all-black town of Rosewood, Florida, in 1922 cannot compare in scale to the Nazi holocaust, it potently illustrates the same issues of racism and inherited intolerance that percolate at every level of human existence. An estimated 40 to 150 blacks were killed in Rosewood by an all-white lynch mob from the neighboring town of Sumner, where a white woman falsely claimed she'd been assaulted by a black man. The resulting mayhem ignited a tinderbox of resentment toward the flourishing citizens of Rosewood, and those few who survived were so traumatized that they remained silent until the truth was revealed by an investigative journalist in 1982.

The film is blessed with richly authentic production design, lush cinematography, and a subtly effective John Williams score, and director John Singleton and screenwriter Gregory Poirier embellish the truth of Rosewood with a fictional hero named Mann (Ving Rhames), who arrives to buy a five-acre plot coveted by Rosewood's white grocer (John Voight). The emerging trust between these two characters--and the fate of an extended family led by a defiant father (Don Cheadle)--gives shape to the movie's devastating depiction of racism and the courage of those who opposed the lynch mob's brutality. Singleton and Poirier fall prey to some bad dialogue and a broadly unbalanced depiction of bloodthirsty hayseeds, but the film's passion is maintained by its superb cast and the timeless echoes of history. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Too Painful to Watch Alone...

... despite the mitigation of a Hollywood love story and a fictitious super-hero, but still not as painful as the TRUTH, the true and well-documented story of an ethnic cleansing in Florida in 1923, when, over several days, European-American mobs attacked the peaceful and prosperous African-American village of Rosewood, in Levy County. During the attack, survivors estimated, as many as eighteen African-Americans and two European-Americans were. Most of the buildings, including churches and a school, were burned. The community was abandoned and, in spite of permanent loss of land and homes, the citizens never returned. Women and children were rescued, as shown in this film, by the crew of the train that regularly stopped at the village. Given the three days of carnage, news of the events reached national newspaper attention. Reporters actually began to arrive on the scene. The governor of Florida was alarmed and asked the nearest local authorities if help was wanted from the National Guard; the sheriff replied that he didn't want help. After the event, the governor did convene an inquest, but no prosecutions or efforts to assist the refugees resulted.

Even without further attention from the outside world, the Rosewood Massacre would have been one of the most atrocious and obvious acts of ethnic/racial "cleansing" in America's history. In 1992, however, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times uncovered evidence of the fate of Rosewood and published a story. That story led to national scrutiny. In 1993, aged survivors descendants of survivors of the Massacre sued the state of Florida for compensation. Confronted by undeniable evidence, the Florida Legislature passed a compensation bill of $2,100,000 and established a scholarship fund for Rosewood descendants. Public opinion in Florida was incensed at such acknowledgement of racism in the state's past; letters written to the legislators ran ten to one against any compensation or recognition of the truth.

Events in Rosewood in 1923 were probably far less picturesque than those shown in this film. Jon Voight does a splendid job of acting in the role of a white store-keeper caught between his own safety and his humanity. Ving Rhames is almost persuasive in his role as the "lone ranger" WW1 veteran -- the African-American stranger who rescues the children. Don Cheadle is impressive as the Rosewood music teacher who decides to fight back. All three characters are fictional, but perhaps only cinematographic fiction can begin to suggest the horror that the citizens of Rosewood experienced when their fellow Americans decided to wipe their community off the face of the Earth. October 10, 2008

Rosewood

Sad but pretty close to the truth. I really don't know what else to say. It's our Country's Sad History. People still use the N word freely. This explains why so many of us take offense, even when our own use it. Boy, even at 50 and respected by his own, a grown man is referred to as Boy. Some folks just don't understand why some of us are still angry. Anger is an action word. Without feeling it, things just don't get done. It's as strong as Determination. I love my black brothers, excuse me, Black Men. Their fight is harder than any other race. If they climb too high, either his own or some other race will try to pull him down. In Rosewood, all I saw were Black Men. Even the youngest boy had to become a man, and he held up his position. Where are the young Arnet's today? They are pretty busy calling each other N...and telling the those who were almost killed or died fighting for the right to be called MAN or WOMAN. The word used to be a fighting word in my younger days...but then, so was the B word. Young People, Learn the history of words before you use them so freely. Watch this movie and others like it, and understand the Term is not endearing or a compliment. If you don't know your history, you are going to repeat it. Ignorance is not Bliss March 18, 2008

Heavy, but great movie.

This movie has a great story to tell, one that all should see, so that it will never happen again.

Item and described, with prompt shipping. October 2, 2007

only got to see half

I purchased this dvd abouth a month ago. I went to finally watch it this weekend. I only got to watch half of it, due to the fact of the movie stops 1hr and 10 minutes into it. I tried 3 different dvd players and the movie stopped 1hr and 10 minutes later. Needless to say i was very disappointed. From what I did see it is a very good movie. I can only give it 3 stars cause i didn't get to see the rest. May 7, 2007

Another film that is usually hard to watch

Director John Singleton, of "Boyz N the Hood" fame, does a top-notch job throughout this two and a half hour film of conveying the building and inevitable terror of what is to come, and of then sustaining that terror. Visually, he's a master storyteller. The trigger was a white woman, beaten black and blue by her lover. To explain the bruises to her husband, she claims that a black intruder worked her over. Never mind that her housekeepers saw perfectly well who did it. And that he wasn't black. Forget due process. In short order, strange fruit was hanging high and blood lust for more was in the air. When one of the housekeepers finally stepped forward to try to quell the tide of violence by telling what she saw, well, suffice to say that no good deed goes unpunished. Ultimately, Rosewood was reduced to ashes.

I consider this film one of those that you might not necessarily want to see, but you need to. Because it's that necessary harsh kind of art, another example of which that readily leaps to mind is Alice Walker's book, Possessing the Secret of Joy. Based on a true story, this is Singleton's intrepid of the destruction of Rosewood, an all-black town in Florida. The incident occurred in 1923 and the film gets kudos all the way around. First of all, the script by Poirier is dead-on, giving you characters that have significant depth to them. Singleton directs the material well, helping to make you care about these people before the insanity begins. And the good news is that the cast is superb and definitely up to the challenge. Rhames, always an SDI favorite, shows that he can carry a leading role as the enigmatic Mann, a veteran who shows up just in time to try to facilitate some of Rosewood's citizens surviving the onslaught. Voight is in fine form as well as a store owner in Rosewood who is uncertain where his loyalties lie when the bullets start flying. Cheadle gets points as well as the proud Sylvester who knows when it's time to stop talking. The strength of this film is that it's brutally honest about the intrepid that it's providing.

The inhumanity is not glamorized or backed away from, it's put in front of you with the understanding that you're there to witness it and learn. It also provides an important lesson in racism, and how the belief system functions, by being passed down from generation to generation. Excellent filmmaking on the part of Singleton and unfortunately lost once Oscar-time rolled around.

February 16, 2007

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