Title: Riot: From Rebellion to Redemption
MPA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Kevin McLaughlin
Starring: Andre Braugher, Cory Booker, Ras Baraka
Runtime: 1 hr 22 mins

What It Is: July 12th, 1967. Two Newark, NJ police officers pull over taxi driver John William Smith. After accusing and subsequently charging Smith with multiple infractions, these police officers ended up beating and assaulting him before bringing him back to the precinct. The fallout from this led to civil disobedience that some could call a riot. This “riot” led to the deaths of 26 confirmed people and the injury of hundreds. It lasted over four days. This documentary offers firsthand accounts of the tragic events of that week.

What We Think: Kevin McLaughlin’s hands-off approach to what he thinks happened is totally the right mindset for this. He has a personal connection, as his father was a first responder during this trepidatious time. It is through the interviews, illustrations, and photos that we get a picture painted of what happened. And it is in those details where the intrigue lies. The resulting violence is obviously a tragedy, and it stinks to high hell that something like this even needed to be made.

Our Grade: B-, I think a documentary like this shows us the importance of two things. The first is PBS. Public broadcasting has been around almost as long as television itself. It offers real stories and educates the masses. The second is how much Andre Braugher is missed. His voice carries this film and he tells the story beautifully. Kevin McLaughlin does a terrific job putting this together. Documentaries are often the most difficult thing in cinema to make. You cannot make things up. You can shape the narrative, but I think that is the balance McLaughlin handles so well, keeping biases out and simply presenting the events as they are. He even goes so far as to ask several interviewees what they would call this tragedy. Many words get thrown around, but it is clear this is something that should never have happened.