Mississippi Burning, USA 1988
I haven't seen this movie for at least 15 years. I think I remember seeing it in school as part of a civil rights lesson during history class. Its the story of two FBI officers investigating the supposed murders of three missing civil rights workers in 1964 rural Mississippi. It is based on a true story but the names and places were changed. Gene Hackman plays one of the FBI agents. Imagine Popeye Doyle as a former southern sheriff turned G-man. Willem Dafoe is the other agent, and more of a Kennedy era idealist. The film explores racism in the south during the 1960's and how the influence of the KKK could put so much fear into people of any ethnicity. I don't have much to say about this movie because it is so disturbing. I think it's a good film and worth watching. It plays out like a police drama but the racial back story gives the film more depth. The director, Alan Parker, took pains to coat every object in the film with OMD, a paint-like substance used to make objects appear dull on screen. The only thing the camera shot that didn't have OMD on it was the skin of the actors. Parker wanted the characters skin to be the focus of the film. This was probably the reason this film won the Oscar for Best Cinematography.
PS: Message me if you want to know what the letters OMD stand for. Its hilarious.
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