Part of Netflix's Black Lives Matter collection, Spike Lee's new film is perhaps his most ambitious yet in terms of scope and effects. But it is its boldness which makes it a real change of tone for Netflix's typical selection, and a perfect spearhead for the celluloid section of the present movement.
Editorial by Dani Buckley
7/11/20
According to director Spike Lee, no Hollywood film studio wanted Da 5 Bloods, despite the director's glittering career. It's easy to see why it would appear as an affront to major production companies, as the film is not your average run-of-the-mill action flick. As with all of his films, Lee's Da 5 Bloods is thickly coated with education and politics, all of which appear under the guise of a plot which sees four Black veterans return to Vietnam to give their deceased friend Stormin' Norman (Chadwick Boseman) a burial and unearth the gold bullion they left there decades ago.
Production companies may have shied away from its shocking and confronting nature, but that's much to their detriment, as 'Da 5 Bloods' is exactly what cinema needs right now.
The plot is a vantage point for the bitter regret and emotional conflict felt by Black recruits in the 1960s and '70s, when they were drafted to fight for a country that held their own basic human freedoms out of reach. This becomes no more apparent than in a scene where, in a flashback, the gang hear of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination through a Vietnamese broadcast. It is remarked that the white G.I.s would not have announced it. The ensuing anger and adopted stoicism is eye-opening and heartbreaking, especially as a white audience member. Though I cannot understand what those in that position must have felt, it portrays the sheer injustice of the situation in a way which forces us to address it and learn from it.
But, as always, Lee doesn't have one simple agenda. Rather, his grievances with human history take many forms within the film's course. Indeed, Lee bravely explores the problematic stance of Black Trump voters in the character of Paul (Delroy Lindo), a disaffected veteran suffering from years of untreated PTSD. Paul's understandable defiance and rage at being "tired of not getting mine" highlights irrationality of Black voters buying into Trump's appeal to them, especially since he has personally expressed little interest in assisting them in their rights before or since. Lindo's explosive performance is staggering. You watch, open-mouthed, as, hard-faced, he pulls on his 'Make America Great Again' cap and spouts a tragic monologue to the camera. His character is so tired of being marginalized, like a great deal of the US population, that he looks for solace in a potentially detrimental political avenue with a maverick, if a little unorthodox, figurehead spilling empty promises. Therein lies the brilliance of Lee's storytelling - his ability to confidently tackle the political grey matter through the art of film.
Lee, of course, doesn't stop there. While delivering a quick-paced and enthralling story with endearing and complex characters, he also pauses to educate, by flashing real-life pictures and footage on our screen at poignant moments. Amidst their reminiscing, the gang discuss Milton Olive, a man that "jumped on that grenade and saved his Bloods’ lives". We are greeted with Olive's image onscreen, Lee endeavoring to put a face to the name and make us remember him, even if history has so far done him a disservice. Otis (played by Clarke Peters) then announces that he was the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. This hammers the sourness of the film home: Black men sacrificed their lives in a war which their country valued as more important than their own basic civil, human rights, as was pointed out by Malcolm X.
The image of Milton Olive, as shown in Lee's film.
Lee splices the film with authentic footage throughout the movie, boldly finding fault with the Vietnam War in and of itself. He flashes up stomach-churning pictures of dead Vietnamese children and mothers brutally murdered by American soldiers. The documentation of the Vietnam War has always been a touchy point of contention in American cinema, with those focusing on the Western viewpoint garnering the most praise: Platoon (1986), The Deer Hunter (1978). Those that didn't, but rather demonstrated the brutality of the war, such as Casualties of War (1987) remain, unfortunately, lesser known. Lee's unbridled boldness appears in full force during these moments: he takes the time that many others wouldn't, to educate those watching with the shocking realities of the darkest horrors of humanity. We are affronted with it, but we need to be.
Da 5 Bloods is an enthralling watch, conveying important messages interjected with cinematic moments of real humor, violence, and tragedy provided by the cast. Each character is so distinct and thought-out that by the end of the film, which stands at over two and a half hours, you feel like you really know them. You end up rooting for them, and you listen, pained, to their grievances, heartaches, squabbles, and celebrations.
Spike Lee's latest film is a necessary watch. It is unlike anything you have ever seen before, and is separated totally from Lee's previous films. If you have Netflix and haven't yet streamed it, I implore you to do so. While the film itself is thoroughly enjoyable, it also carries an important array of messages that we all need to digest. Lee has never pandered to white audiences when making his films, and has expressed his contempt for those that do. In 2018, he said in an interview that Green Book was "not my cup of tea", and this is more than a fair assessment. The film could certainly be interpreted as furthering the damaging 'white savior' trope that Lee spent decades rallying against in his films such as Malcolm X (1992) and Do the Right Thing (1989). Despite its illuminating content, Da 5 Bloods is not catered to educate white audiences. Instead, it provides audiences with a necessary but supplementary education while first and foremost voicing the grievances and pain of people of color, which sadly, has not yet been truly touched upon in a Vietnam film before.
Da 5 Bloods epitomizes the power of cinema by providing something enjoyable with a message that is as present today as it ever was. Ever pushing the boundaries of cinema, Lee's most ambitious project yet is nothing short of a new lease of life for Netflix's dull selection and a perfect celluloid spearhead for the pressing Black Lives Matter movement. If you stream one film this summer, make it this one.
There is no better time.
