channahsorah

"Friends at Last." Great and apt title. Excellent story-telling, script, acting, casting, and overall filmography. Never having heard of this movie before, it popped up on Tubi, and given the cast (with Kathleen Turner), I watched it. The way that time and events unfold are masterfully done by the script, actors, and director. Rather extraordinary, actually.

The film, the unfoldment of the relationship among the family-members (Dad, Mom, and daughter), and between the husband and the wife, remind me of my Parents... They were so close early on in their life together, drifted apart so to speak, divorced, and then became very great friends again. ... And it was my Dad who later had an illness and we were there for him... As it is, I am grateful to have found this film, and appreciate it greatly. I fully recommend and commend it to you to watch, for its depth, meaningfulness, as well as for how it pulls you in, engages you, and captivates you. While having all these attributes and qualities, it is not melodramatic, sentimental, or hokey. "Friends at Last" is a hidden-gem from 1995 with a creative, unusual take on a family's life unfoldments, yet grounded, realistic, and will be relevant in all future time-periods.

"TILL" was powerfully and extraordinarily done in terms of actors, accuracy, and such. The movie captures reasonably accurately and precisely what occurred, and does an honorable job of capturing and conveyed this horrific episode in history. What happened to Emmitt Till in 1955 in Mississippi has haunted me for years and years... It was and is very important to make this very well known to persons across the country and the world, including in the form of this greatly-done movie. (There were a couple of detailed things I had not known, such as the touching fact that Emmett gave his Mom his wrist-watch before getting on the train.)

As careful research of facts has revealed, the initial horror is then added to by that cashier-female person's total manufacturing of lies about what Emmitt really did and said in the store. What we do know is that he 'whistled' at her outside the store. Maybe while alive that shop-girl person will publicly tell the truth about what Did and what Did Not happen. She owes that to the family, the nation, and the world at large.

And then the so-called "jury" renders a not-guilty verdict. Horror is added to horrors again and again over time as the murderers openly admit their crimes AND GET PAID FOR DOING SO!

Some of the other offenses are left out in interest of time and pacing, such as how, after Emmitt's brutal torture and murder, Emmitt's Dad's military record was grossly misrepresented by the southern Caucasian crowd in order to undermine what was done to Emmitt Till.

The way African Americans were (to some extent still are?) referred to and regarded in "Mississippi," and how such courageous and gracious people are referred to with name-calling and such was and is stingingly horrific. -- in 1955 it was, and still is done by small tiny-minded persons who were bred, fed, and indoctrinator in these prejudiced ways and mind-sets. (This poisonous 'treatment of' and name-calling of Black fellow human beings is part of the reason for 9 stars instead of 10, even though it was historically accurate -- I just couldn't stand it or abide it.)

One of the most profound and powerful statements in the whole film was the quote of what Emmitt Till's Mom so aptly said: "WHATEVER HAPPENS TO ANY OF US, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, HAD BETTER BE THE BUSINESS OF US ALL." - Emmett Till's Mother, Mamie - her revelation after the incident and trial.

Well I almost did not watch this - for the "I Love Lucy" portion of Desi and Lucy's lives we sometimes (maybe sort of 'often') watched those as re-runs as kids. ... (For me, since slapstick was never my jam even as a child, other things were more compelling; however, my sister and i sometimes/usually watched it when it came on.) ... As it is, I am grateful to have watched this documentary and that Amy P. Directed and 'curated' this beautifully-done documentary. ... It shows a huge range and many sides of the lives of Desi and Lucy starting from before they even met through their deaths, and after their deaths... Yet it is not dry and "academic." ... Rather, it is compelling and even though it was late at night I watched it all the way through. ... The film is comprehensive, touching, and soulful. ... Plus it delves into the various hard-times and difficulties the couple had later in their family-life. ... The interviews add a lot to it and every aspect of footage is quintessentially perfectly placed and timed. ... I am aware of the amount of WORK and TIME this took to do! ... And personally, I learned a *lot* of things about their lives that I never knew--things that are worth knowing. ... Also, in a short digression, I will mention that it reminds me of our parentals, who became good friends with much mutual reverence and grace after their divorce--they'd exchange books to read and such--as dear old friends. (And they were thespians when they met actually! -- did not think of that similarity until just this moment...) .... // Back to our regularly scheduled "Lucy and Desi" review, I totally, fully endorse and recommend it for everyone to watch. ... As others have mentioned, the ending tribute is extremely fitting, poignant, and touching. ... "Desi and Lucy" really is a gem.

// --A Child of Lanny and Vee.