Review of Free State of Jones (2016) by William F — 02 Jul 2016

I give this movie a full five stars because, unlike a number of the professional critics (whom I truly pity due to the fact that they have to watch 5-10 movies per week--such as things as The Purge, The Conjuring 2 and other movies with (in my humble opinion) have minimal edification or entertainment value) appear to be so burned out and jaded that they don't bother to evaluate the significance of the story, especially as it relates to the present state of our country.

Racism and zenophobia are running rampant and we wonder why. Possibly because we know so little about our history and the people who fought to make our country a hope for the dignity of all people everywhere.

If you think that my evaluation is idealistic try reading the biographical review of Newton Jones in the Smithsonian website--Newton Jones was a remarkable man. My father left Mississippi before WWII because he couldn't take the oppression and bigotry.

He went to Georgia Tech in Atlanta after the war and left the South again because it bothered him so much that many white people in the South were so hung up in the past--"we'll never forget.

" I think that FSOJ was a somewhat complicated telling of a man's life who stood for what he thought was right and in the 21st Century most people would agree that he got it pretty close to right.

The battle for black people to get the right to vote was a cooperative effort between black and white people--again, most of us would say that expanding voting to all men was a good thing and that the further expansion to voting rights to all women was another important breakthrough for all people.

The story was riveting to me, the characters were alive, the story full of historical complexity, and the conclusion demonstrated that some progress was made by that group of people led by Jones--we still have a lot more progress to make.

I say "I see this movie, get registered to vote and vote every year.".