Driving While Black [Film]

Welcome to Day 11 of our unofficially titled “12 Non-Holiday Films for the Holidays”. For 12 days, we are showcasing 12 amazing non-holiday themed films for those of us who despise holiday films or the whole damned season altogether. Enjoy!

“Dmitri is a pizza guy who would rather smoke weed and suffer for his art, but his mom and his girl won’t stop nagging him to get a real job. When he’s offered a gig mouthing off to tourists behind the wheel of a Hollywood “star tour” bus, it looks like everyone might get what they want. Trouble is, our man can’t seem to step out the door to get to the interview without endless complications: busted radiators, simple weed scores gone sideways and LAPD cruisers seemingly everywhere. Dmitri’s skill at going unnoticed by cops is honed by painful experiences growing up Black in L.A., but even his keen survival instincts won’t save him from the week from hell.” – October Coast PR

Oh we have another amazing film with a real message to share with you fine folks today! Driving While Black doesn’t exactly leave much to the imagination of what the film may be about, yet it is filled with an abundance of surprises and startling content that is going to leave your simple mind absolutely blown away. And if it doesn’t, then it is possible that there is something absolutely wrong with you if you can not see this comedic pot of gold as anything short of a call for change and/or help.

Filmmaker Paul Sapino has managed to bring a collection of real life experiences from DWB‘s star Dominique Purdy to the big screen in one of the most compelling, and also hilarious at times, film of 2017. Purdy wasn’t entirely on my radar prior to watching this amazing flick, but his comedic wit and realistic acting abilities has definitely moved him up on the top of my must watch list. And Sapino seems to have a cinematic sensibility that is an absolutely positive addition to the world of film that simply should not be denied.

Driving While Black is definitely a stand alone piece of brilliant cinema and comparison to other works are not exactly necessary. But, I sort of feel like I have to do it. This film is absolutely Crash, but actually impactful, and just an all around better film. The impact of the film comes from its brilliant dramatization of modern day race relations, which is one thing that Crash tried to do, but time has shown that it ultimately failed. But the other comparison comes from the film’s focus on tying the every day lives of individuals into one singular story, which ultimately revolved around race relations. And this is just another example of how DWB absolutely beat Crash’s proverbial ass in this realm. I was absolutely shocked with the creative ways that this film manage to flip everything around and bring each individual story back around on its ass to create an ending that was a bit disturbing, only because it feels as though it is the most realistic way that a film like this could end. Also, it is based on actual events, so it was basically inevitable.

Overall, Driving While Black is an absolutely wonderful film that is worthy of multiple viewings, because each time you are guaranteed to learn something brand new. Of course, this is coming from a white guy with a blog. For those folks out there living every day in black skin, this may not be a real learning experience, but simply an amazing cinematic dramatization of everyday life that might be appreciated for its raw and unrestrictive commentary. But for the rest of you motherfuckers (me/us), please watch this movie a few times, and try to learn something. And if after a few viewings you still can’t get it, please at the very least, stay off the Internet. Forever.

Driving While Black will hit theaters across the U.S. on February 1st.