Fallen Tears of America
Spike Lee’s newest joint is well-crafted and perfectly timed, but not solely for this moment
“We were convinced that we could not limit our vision to certain rights for black people…but instead affirmed the conviction that America would never be free or saved from itself until the descendants of its slaves were loosed completely from the shackles they still wear.”
So spoke the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4th, 1967. Exactly one year before he was murdered.
And, so is the note that ends Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee’s newest joint, Da 5 Bloods. Like most of his work, it is not exactly a note of positivity. Rather, King’s all-too-relevant words serve as a reminder of the work that must still be done to ensure those words in the Declaration of Independence: that all men are created equal.
In Da 5 Bloods, the black Vietnam veteran speaks his piece. Four black American G.I.s reunite on a mission to retrieve buried treasure; a crate of gold from fifty years earlier, discovered in the remains of a crashed war plane. The task was put in place as a promise to the deceased leader of the self-proclaimed five bloods, “Stormin’” Norman (played by Chadwick Boseman in flashback scenes), to return the gold to their homeland and donate the money to continue to fight the cause for racial equality and support black power in America. The remaining party consists of Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), Melvin (Isaiah Whitlock, Jr.), and Paul (Delroy Lindo). The four, now in their seventies, meet together at a hotel in modern-day Ho Chi Minh City, cheerful to embrace one another once more. Along the way, it is discovered that Paul’s son David (Jonathan Majors), has surprised his father by joining him on his trip. This is met with initial tension on the part of the other bloods as they don’t want anyone to know their true purpose for returning to Vietnam, but they eventually find him to be a valuable asset on the hunt.
One night, David meets some landmine hunters at a bar. They include Hedy (Mélanie Thierry), Simon (Paul Walter Hauser), and Seppo (Jasper Pääkkönen). The next day, the new five bloods’ search commences through the intense, scorching jungle for the gold.
It is not always fair weather in this reunion. Throughout the course of their trek, we learn about the inner and outer trials each of the characters have faced as a result of serving in the Vietnam war. Eddie earned and abundance money and then spent it all, leaving him broke. Otis is plagued with intense head pains and resorts to OxyContin (opioids) for relief, to the chagrin of his old friends. Paul and David, however, are focused on throughout much of the film. Paul, now a bitter Trump supporter, has been led astray from his original promise to Norman to use the gold for a greater good. He is more focused on the personal spending that he feels he is entitled to upon retrieving it. Also, he has multiple panic attacks being back on his warfront. The man talks to himself, though we later discover who he is really speaking to. His relationship with his son, David, is toxic and devoid of affection. This is because David’s birth was the cause of his wife’s death many years prior. For that very reason, David is viewed in his eyes as a constant intruder; an unwonted nuisance on this journey.
It would be inaccurate to say that David’s father does not love his son. Throughout the film, the inner greed and battle with facing his past traumas prompts him to act out in often violent ways. Still, when danger upon the trail looms large (and believe me, there are turns around every bamboo tree), Paul clutches his child in his protective arms.
The gold as well as the remains of their dead brother Stormin’ Norman are found, however the most visceral thrills of the film come with getting it out of the jungle. Between landmines, Vietnamese “officials” tracking the men’s every move, and the ghost of Norman, the haul turns deadly and introspective.
This is Spike Lee doing what he does best: delivering his lifelong message of the necessity for black liberation and stirring some shit while doing so. Once again, that message is all-too meaningful. His visual style is top-notch here. The use of digital imagery in the modern-day shots and tender fade into 16mm film when flashing back to wartime Vietnam amplifies the already authentic and well-structured script co-penned by Lee and BlacKkKlansman collaborator Kevin Wilmott, as well as the team of Paul DeMeo and Danny Bilson.
A frequent collaborator of Lee’s, composer Terrence Blanchard, also complimented these elements by giving us a score that rushes and breaks the heart with its fusion with East Asian sound and taps that make you wonder if you’re hearing distant gunshots while watching.
It was nice to see two other BlacKkKlansman alumni, Jasper Pääkkönen and Paul Walter Hauser, giving supporting performances here with much subtlety (as opposed to their work in the previous film). Another delight was seeing newcomer Jonathan Majors in a major role. I previously lauded him for his work in The Last Black Man in San Franciscolast summer, where he gave one of the finest performances I’ve ever seen in film. But, if there is an Oscar to be given to just one member of this cast, hand it to Delroy Lindo, who played his father, as soon as the CDC allows. Lindo brought a sense of guilt and torture of an enormous magnitude, and it his desire to fulfill his personal goals, misguided by the very country that betrayed him, that drives the film both in plot and rhythm. It is truly one of the best pieces of acting to be seen this year. This, coming from a man who is also a favorite of Mr. Lee.
Upon finishing the two-and-a-half hour long epic, which I have bitten my nails to the tender skin beneath them in anticipation for over the past year, I found myself asking, could this have been more perfectly timed? After all, the past two weeks have seen a torrent of rage in the American psyche when it comes to the lack of civil rights of black citizens in this country. Right now, there have been long-lasting demonstrations of thousands in busy city streets in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement, a flood of petitions and God-knows how many dollars spent in donations towards equality funds and supporting black families and businesses, and a plethera of initiatives launched to reform company policies for inclusivity standards. This obviously doesn’t come without opposition, for on those same streets there are policemen teargassing protestors and neo-Nazis chanting in defiance. Some of those fundraisers have been found to be fake. As for those company policies? They should have been in place from the moment the first dollar bill was spent.
In truth, Da 5 Bloods would be just as relevant without the George Floyd tragedy occurring. The men in this film represent that ongoing struggle, the risks they take to serve that cause, and how some may become infatuated with self-fulfillment against the broader purpose. They are the remains of a broken system that, in itself, seems to be imploding. Sure, the current protests may make the film seem more about today’s time but make no mistake that the current situation is simply fed-up and abused citizens reaching a boiling point. Much like the protagonists here, the search for gold will come with bloodshed and breakdowns.
Need some rejuvenation for your protest? Need a reminder for why we should stand up? Or some enlightenment into why exactly we are standing up? Make time for this new joint, Da 5 Bloods. I hope you come away from it reassured that black lives mattered in 1619, they matter today, and they matter for the years to come. That’s the triple truth, Ruth.
