DA 5 BLOODS

​Spike Lee makes films on his own terms which are not those of the average commercial film.  Da 5 Bloods, his latest offering is funky and urgent, putting a social and political agenda ahead of verisimilitude. The story of four black Vietnam vets returning to a Ho Chi Min City overflowing with tours and tourists to recover a long lost cache of gold bars pays homage to John Huston’s Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) in which a lust for gold leads to madness and death. That is merely a template for Lee’s cry to acknowledge the sacrifices made by African American warriors in a country that continues to oppress communities of color.  The classic storyline collides with Lee’s tendency to turn characters into symbols. The result is an intentional and disconcerting, a blend of action and pedantic social commentary with touches of comedy and adventure.
Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr) Eddie (Norm Lewis) and Norman (Chadwick Boseman), are Da 5 Bloods  CONTINUE READING ...