Spike Lee Film Festival

Do the Right Thing
There are those who argue that even two decades later, Lee has failed to match this work, which was his second commercial film. If this is true, it's because this film was the one that was closest to his heart. The script, which poured through Lee in a mere two weeks, expertly captures the latent, deep-seated hostilities between races and nationalities in a Brooklyn neighborhood, and could very well be a reflection of the simmering racial tensions nationwide. Visually stunning and filled with vibrant music and colorful characters, this film was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar and put Spike Lee on the map for years to come.

Clockers
After his acclaimed debut She's Gotta Have it (1986), Lee released a flurry high-profile films, almost all of which touched on hot-button issues. School Daze (1988) dealt with color complexes among light-skinned and dark-skinned African-Americans. After Do the Right Thing (1989) came the jazzy love story Mo' Better Blues (1990), which marked Lee's first collaboration with Denzel Washington. Jungle Fever (1991) addressed interracial relationships and the crack epidemic, and then the biopic Malcolm X (1992). A year after the tepid coming-of-age story Crooklyn (1994), Lee released what I consider his most underrated film: Clockers. This film was originally to have been directed by Martin Scorsese, but he opted to shoot Casino instead. In Lee's hands, the film took a markedly different turn from the Richard Price novel, focusing on the young drug dealer Strike (played by then unknown Mehki Phifer) instead of the detective Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel), who is investigating a murder in which Strike is the primary suspect. Clockers is a compelling, redemptive story about how drugs and violence can affect a community.

Malcolm X
Lee intended this to be his piece de resistance, and he was at his directorial best, earning an Oscar nomination for Denzel Washington's portrayal of the controversial and complex civil rights activist. Lee stayed mostly in synch with the autobiography penned by Alex Haley - with the exception of a misguided decision to cast himself as a fictitious Bostonian sidekick of a young Malcolm, which reeked of self-indulgence. Working from a script by James Baldwin, Malcolm X's amazing journey speaks for itself and needs no embellishment whatsoever. Critics of the film said it bordered on hagiography. But I think it creates a balanced portrayal of a complex, widely misunderstood man who perished before his evolution from hate-monger to lover of humanity could be fully realized.

25th Hour
This was the first film shot in New York City after the September 11th, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, and it there couldn't possibly have been one more appropriate. The opening credit sequence features a series of ominous shots of ground zero and the Towers of Light, with eerie, orchestral mood music playing, creates a sense of foreboding that grips the viewer and doesn't let up until long after the sobering ending. Post-9/11 New York was the perfect setting for this adaptation of David Benioff's novel, which is about a drug dealer's last day on the outside before reporting to prison. Edward Norton, who came out of hiw own pocket to co-produce the film, spends his last night of freedom hanging with his two best friends, wondering if his guirlfriend turned him in, and trying to make things right with his father and his gangster associates. The film takes subtle jabs at the controversial Rockefeller Drug Laws, which impose mandatory sentences to non-violent drug offenders. But the major themes are regret, helplessness and forced acceptance of fate, perfectly capturing the post-9-11 mood in the city.

When the Levees Broke
With the HBO productions "4 Little Girls" and "Jim Brown: All American", Lee demonstrated a penchant for the compelling documentary film, but his four-part epic chronicling the Hurricane Katrina disaster and its aftermath is par excellence. I would say this is Lee's most important film because it chronicles one of the most unprecedented events in American history. Outraged as he was by the slow federal response to the disaster, it would have been easy for Lee to tell a one-sided story, but for the most part the film remains objective, allowing those who were involved and affected tell their own stories without being filtered through voiceover narration. Sources included average civilians, public officials, politicians, news reports, and actual footage from the event and was complemented by an interesting portrayal of the city of New Orleans and what makes it such a special part of Americana. It was a masterful job.

Lee's most recent film was the commercial hit "The Inside Man," which starred heavy hitters Denzel Washington, Clove Owen and Jodie Foster, and he is currently at work on a sequel. Maybe after 20 years of rattling cages and inciting debate, he has mellowed and simply wants his viewers to be entertained …but I doubt it.