Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story

Yvette Johnson with her father, Leroy Jones, in Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story.

Time Out rating:

<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5

User ratings:

<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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Time Out says

Mon Apr 23 2012

The video clip at the heart of this documentary on African-American restaurant worker Booker Wright is so revelatory that director Raymond De Felitta (City Island) can be excused for repeating it a half dozen times. Taken from an NBC News special about life in Mississippi filmed by De Felitta’s father, Frank, in 1965, the footage features Wright re-creating his for-the-white-folks routine before launching into a bitterly ironic exposé on racial relations. Intercutting present-day interviews with the murdered Wright’s family and residents of Greenwood, Mississippi, the director illuminates how the town’s racial and economic dynamics have changed, while simultaneously reflecting on the ethics of nonfiction filmmaking. It’s a powerful testament to how far we both have and haven’t come.

Follow Andrew Schenker on Twitter: @aschenker

Author: Andrew Schenker

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Release details

US release:

Wed Apr 25 2012

Duration:

90 mins

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Comments & ratings

Rated as: 5/5 (1 rating)

  • Hard to believe such attitude's flourished in the South in those times & before. Booker was a great man who, in a calculated moment, spoke the truth of the hardship & hope of a better world for his children. Nobly he faced the repercussions with great dignity & the world has changed much for the better & opportunities have greatly increased since then. Sadly we now live in a time when some try to divide us when we need to be unified as Americans, all as children of the same Creator. Looking forward to when the DVD is released in November.

    C R Erhart Mon Jul 16 2012
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • Great documentary that lets itself and Booker down with the premise that Booker was murdered because of his appearance on the original NBC documentary. Booker seemed like a really great man and his family justifiably proud of him but like everyone we look for reasons for others unreasonable actions. The show makes no real argument for the murder being politically or racially motivated. Left feeling with an overall feeling of being misled when we should have been left with a feeling of pride and humility.

    jcrumlish Sun May 6 2012
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