Movie Review: Whose Streets?

Whose Streets? *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Sabaah Folayan.

 

The documentary Whose Streets assumes that anyone watching it knows what happened in Ferguson, Missouri in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr., at the hands of a white police officer, and what happened – months later – when the decision was made not to charge that officer with any crime. This film isn’t trying to be the definitive documentary about that case – what happened and why – and doesn’t seek to tell “both sides of the story”. Instead, what it wants to do is place the viewing in the middle of the black community of Ferguson in those days – to feel their anger and frustration – and watch as they make their voices heard. Yes, some of those voices were violent –but most of them were not. The movie, which utilizes a lot of footage taken on the ground – either by the documentary crew itself, or by people using their phones – doesn’t just document the protests or the “riots” – but the day in, day out frustrations of those who live there. I don’t know how well the film will hold 20 or 30 years from now – when viewers may well need the context to make sense of what they are seeing – but for viewers who know the story now, it is a vital and important work – a counter narrative of what we’ve seen on the news.

 

Whose Streets certainly has an agenda – but that agenda is to get the feeling of what happened in Ferguson, from the people who live there. The documentary shows a wide range of people in the Black Lives Matter movement – and other organizations – and they express a wide variety of thoughts and opinions on the subject. Some are hard to argue with, if you’ve been paying attention – some are more extreme, and you may well question what you think about them. The cameras capture them all – and basically, just wants to give everyone their voice.

 

There are arcs throughout the film – undeniable, Brittany Farrell will stand out to most people. She is a nursing student and a single mother to a daughter, she is raising to question what she hears and sees – and stand up for what is right. She puts everything on hold to pursue activism throughout the film – and will eventually risk arrest with a protest blocking traffic (this is a protest I’ve never quite understood – I’m not sure what it’s end goal is, to get people on your side, by inconveniencing them? – and yet the response she gets, compared to the white woman who just decides she isn’t going to stop for the people block her car is ridiculous). Brittany’s story is relatable in many ways – she is getting married to Alexis, and their relationship – and that to her adorable, hilarious daughter gives the film an emotional backbone.

 

Mostly though, while we see the same faces again and again, this is a story about the collective, not about individuals. This is a story of the people of Ferguson, who took to the streets to voice their displeasure – and found themselves in the middle of a national news story. As they say repeatedly throughout the film, when this is all over, they still have to live here. The protests have died down – as have the media interest – but this isn’t over.