Tony Kaye
American History X

AMERICAN HISTORY X

Those teeth biting the curb, that dull noise that follows the slow motion of a shirtless closet full of white hate moving towards the immobilized and defenseless black "cockroach." You see nothing, only that noise, but the maddened eyes of Edward Norton, his mocking grin as he slowly approaches loaded with all possible contempt to crush with murderous intent what he considers the blasphemous and foul fruit of an inferior race; that photograph is seared into my cinematic memories.

Ten years have passed and "American History X" thanks to very strong scenes like this, remains. It is not the first time color is removed to highlight the racial theme in a film, and the result proves director Tony Kaye right. Without it, white becomes light and black night: differences are accentuated. Time occasionally stops, and with a well-crafted photograph, the most gifted and chameleon-like actor of the latest generation in my opinion (Primal Fear, Fight Club, 25th Hour...) excels in nuances of expression that take us into the head of a fanatic. The violence described in the assault on a foreign market finds its brilliant apex in the use of milk to paint the face of a South American cashier petrified with fear. The dialogues with which he incites his followers are slashes of hate that Derek has inherited from his murdered policeman father and as a result of the indoctrination from the old leader. The character is so well rendered that that gigantic "flag" tattooed on his heart does not seem like an exaggeration but the natural decoration of a pure "white power" warrior.

In the realm of blacks, in the rectangle where they feel the best, a ball stolen and a slow-motion dunk with very bitter laughter to seal the most painful defeat. The expulsion of the "cockroaches" from what they considered their untouchable home. The reaction comes. And so we return to the initial dull noise and enter the prison where Derek has time to discover that his purest ideals, the ones he would have died for, in the harsh reality of prison begin to crumble. He believed his flag would protect him and instead strips him of his dignity, strikes him. At the same time, what allows him to survive during his detention is a black boy, with whom he slowly bonds.

When he gets out of jail, he attempts to get his brother out, who had taken him as a model by following in his footsteps in the sect. The drops from the shower fall on him in another slow motion where it becomes clear that the conversion is now complete. He places a hand on the "flag"; it is a gentle gesture, but he would like to tear it off. He renounces the past. Hatred begets only hatred; the moral of a violent and harsh film that hits the stomach more than once. To be listened to in the original language, to savor excellently constructed dialogue tones that ensure impressive veracity. A chilling photograph of modern America. A well-interpreted and constructed film that leaves its mark.