A quality, heavy and dark film about the infamous bloody episode of the civil rights movement of blacks in the United States. "Mississippi on Fire" can be seen as an attempt to understand how far hatred can go, especially the hatred of one group of people against another group. The dark side of human nature in general. The film follows
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A quality, heavy and dark film about the infamous bloody episode of the civil rights movement of blacks in the United States. "Mississippi on Fire" can be seen as an attempt to understand how far hatred can go, especially the hatred of one group of people against another group. The dark side of human nature in general. The film follows the real events quite closely, which distinguishes it from those accompanied by references to "artistic assumptions." However, the names of real people are changed because they did not (and would not) give permission to film their lives. The immediate participant, who was at the time the sheriff of the district, went to court, complaining that the creators invaded his privacy and slandered. But in court he was told to leave, saying that the law was not violated. In 1964, organizations fighting for blacks to vote organized a "summer of freedom." They sought to find blacks in Mississippi who would agree to publicly declare that they were not allowed to vote in order to claim voting rights on their behalf. In order to prevent the “summer of freedom”, the local Ku Klux Klan decided to kill three activists, thereby intimidating both the local population and foreign fighters for rights. That's what they did. Since among the conspirators were policemen and subordinates of the sheriff, criminal prosecution was not threatened. However, the plan almost immediately began to crack at the seams. The conspirators did not take into account changes in public sentiment and politics. First, the disappearance of activists, whose fate was beyond doubt, sparked public outrage nationwide. As a result, Mississippi was flooded with visitors from all over the country who tried to recruit any black person. Through their efforts, a black electoral bloc was formed. These events are not shown in the film. The focus is on the FBI investigation. Second, President Johnson demanded that the FBI solve the case, sparing no resources. The clouds over the heads of the conspirators began to thicken. At the cost of great efforts, FBI agents managed to obtain information about the burial place of the dead. The circle of suspects was outlined, and the FBI was tasked with finding a weak link, a person who could become a witness. Ultimately, the agents were successful. However, the Mississippi state justice has refused to prosecute the suspects, offering the maximum to charge some with disturbing public order. It seemed that all the long-term efforts of investigators would go to waste because of the conflict of jurisdictions. But the federal government found a trick. Unable to try the conspirators for serious crimes, the authorities brought charges against them for violating the civil rights of the victims. Of the eighteen accused, the jury found seven guilty. At the time of filming, it was not known who the FBI informant was. In the film, the creators came up with a story arc, according to which the informant was a close relative of one of the conspirators. Today it is known that he was a patrol officer who saw where the service cars turned. Similarly, the creators were forced to come up with how the FBI pressured one of the killers to get testimony. Not everyone liked Mississippi on Fire. Some black people criticized the film. In their opinion, white made a film about the suffering of blacks, in which the white main characters. But you can't get the lyrics out of the song. There was an FBI investigation and the agents were white. This film can be called a film by Gene Hackman, who portrayed a complex hero. To sympathize or not with such a hero is a matter of taste, but acting is difficult not to admire. Very cool look and impress with realism and memories of the father of the hero Hackman.
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