Nancy Buirski
United States | 2011 | 77 min
Language : English
1958. Richard and Mildred Loving – he white, she half-caste – get married in Washington, but are outlaws in Virginia, and in 16 other American states. 1967. The US Supreme Court rules in favour of the couple, and against the ban on inter-racial marriage. Made using superb archive footage, this moving and melancholy film re-examines the battle of a couple in love that changed the course of history.
1958: Richard and Mildred Loving – he white, she half-caste – get married in Washington, but are outlaws in Virginia, as in 16 other American states. 1967. The US Supreme Court rules in favour of the couple, and against the ban on inter-racial marriage: a historic verdict that advanced the cause of civil rights nationwide. The Lovings’ struggle, supported by their young lawyers, is retold here slowly and without didacticism. But the power and originality of the film lies in the exceptional library footage:previously unpublished 16mm rushes shot by two cinéma-vérité representatives and some magnificent stills by a “Life” magazine photographer. Part love story, part legal chronicle, this melancholy documentary delves into the private life of an ordinary couple, deeply in love, who changed history while claiming to have no political axe to grind. An amazing journey back in time, which sheds a penetrating light on Obama’s America, where other couples are still fighting for their rights…
Alessia Bottani
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