chi-raq

CINEPHILIA: Chi-Raq’s vignettes are filled with human worth

In the opening minutes of Chi-Raq, a title card informs us that since 2001, more Americans have died on Chicago streets than in the Iraq War, the results of gang violence perpetuated by poverty and a government that has neglected a ghettoized part of the city. Spike Lee has never been known for subtlety. If his films are overly didactic, they make up for it in passion, energy, and earnestness. They’re angry only because tears are too passive to motivate change. Spike Lee’s latest joint is a sermon, a comedy, a tragedy, a musical, a poem, and a modern adaptation…

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