LOVING WINS OVER THE SUPREME COURT
Richard Loving (played by Joel Edgerton) marry Mildred (Ruth Negga) in 1958 by traveling from Caroline County, Virginia, to see a judge in Washington, DC. They thus know that they are violating Virginia’s antimiscegenation law but seem naïve about the consequences of returning home to inevitable arrest, as he is White and she is Black. In the early part of the film, which creeps along boringly, Richard’s friendship with African Americans is established, and indeed he has no White friends except for his mother. He appears surprised when arrest came quickly after the two sleep together, but a country lawyer helps them to plead guilty, get probation for what otherwise would be a year in jail, and accept the court’s decision to ban them from returning to Virginia for 25 years. But they return to Virginia for the birth of their child. And again they are arrested, nearly facing imprisonment until their lawyer makes a pitch to the judge on their behalf, and they go back to the District. But do not like living in Washington with friends, so when their child gets into a minor accident with an auto, they pack up and return to Virginia to face the consequences. But on TV Mildred sees the March on Washington of 1963, writes Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and latter refers her plea to the ACLU. Soon Bernard Cohen (Nick Kroll), a novice attorney who enlists a supposedly more experienced lawyer, Phil Hirschkop (Jon Bass). The legal explanation that their case might ultimately go to the Supreme Court is very unclear, particularly confusing to Richard, while Mildred seems more trusting, as they are trying to help. The legal route is difficult but surmounts the Virginia court system. While they await a Supreme Court decision, they are national celebrities, though both are quite humble until the day in 1967, when the Supreme Court rules in their favor. Directed by Jeff Nichols, titles at the end indicate that the court declared a right to marry. MH
MOANA INSULTS POLYNESIANS
Four directors had a script for Moana to accompany an animated story of how Polynesians moved from one part of the Pacific to their current home in Hawai‛i. Instead of flying to Honolulu to learn how the native population acts and talks, they Americanized the characters. The result was that the Demi-God Māui is portrayed as a punk. Even Moana, the princess who is the main character, comes off as a smart ass. The result is that the film Moana will be enjoyed in Trumpland, but Native Hawaiians will again be misportrayed, yet another offense committed in a long line since the monarchy was illegally toppled in 1893 and uninvited America took over. MH
LION ROARS ABOUT MISSING CHILDREN
Every year, according to a title at the end of Lion, some 80,000 children go astray from their homes in India—and more worldwide. One such child, five-year-old Saroo (played by Sonny Pawar), goes to a train station with his brother, but then his brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) goes off to work, leaving him sleeping at the station. When his brother does not return, Saroo searches on a train parked in the station that suddenly embarks on a 2-day, 1000-mile trip to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), with no intermediate stop for Saroo to get off. While wandering around the city, he is eventually rounded up to live in an orphanage, which in turn facilitates his adoption by loving Australian parents, Sue and John Brierly (played by Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). But one day his separation from his brother and his Mom haunts him, so at the age of 30 (now played by Dev Patel) he uses computer capabilities to locate them and reunites with his mother Kamla (Priyanka Bose), though his brother died at that train station. There are many subplots in the very sentimental film, which is based on Saroo’s autobiography A Long Way Home. (Saroo mispronounced his birthname Sheru, which means “lion” in Hindi.) The film ends with an appeal to help missing children. MH