CinemaClock Nanaimo

This is a brilliant movie! The story itself is both inspiring and sobering. Its passion gets your heart racing. The stinging history lessons woven throughout the story are a grim reminder of what African Americans have fought against to gain dignity and inclusion (a battle still being fought today in far too many ways) As a white woman in today's world, I can barely imagine what it must have been like to live day in and day out in a world with that degree of oppression and cruelty –- and to think it was an improvement over what their ancestors endured for centuries before it! This background makes the victory of these Great Debaters all the more triumphant. The acting is superb, carefully crafted to convey many layers of their individual and collective stories. This film should be playing to sold out audiences! Yet, sadly and bafflingly, it is not –- at least not where I saw it. 50% capacity, maybe, of a mostly Black audience. Are White people afraid to see this film? That would be a tragedy and a waste. This is not simply a Black history story; it is a thread of history that runs through the entire multicoloured American fabric, which all of western culture has been affected by or participated in, and must heal from. Yes, you will be sobered and sometimes horrified, but it is ultimately a story of triumph and inspiration for anyone who has ever tasted a lack of dignity, respect and Justice simply for being a fellow human being arbitrarily regarded as "different." Whether you go see it to learn about the African American struggle for equality, or whether you go to hear some snappy, compelling and inspiring debating, or whether you go to be reminded that it is possible to find the courage to rise above whatever inhibits you, or whether you just want to see excellent acting and story telling –- GO SEE THIS FILM!

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