(image from here)

Watched Spike Lee's movie Crooklyn the other day and it was so great. 

We watched it as a family, I had actually watched it years ago with the kids and they didn't remember it at all, it is marked on common sense media as 13+ but sometimes when they were really little, I knew most things would fly over their heads, so I would just go for it because I was desperate for content I would enjoy that I could also watch with them.

 (On that note, I have a list here of other movies that work for kids and their parents and there are other themed lists here on my bibliocommons profile. Did I mention I L.O.V.E. my local public library?).

Crooklyn was released in 1994 and details the life of a Black family growing up in the Bed-Stuy neighbourhood of Brooklyn in the 70ies. It is actually partly based on Spike's own life and was written together with his sister and brother (his sister Joie plays the Auntie in the movie and Spike plays Snuffy, a glue-sniffer). I think because of this, the characters of the two women in the family, the daughter Troy and the mother Carolyn, are especially well-developed. 

The way that family life was described felt very real, mixed together with some very surreal, dream-like moments. Very much a kids POV, now that I think about it.

Style-wise, it was super fun to watch. Actress Alfe Woodard's beads and braids, Troy's crocheted tank-top, the Dad's (played by Delroy Lindo) skullcaps and linens, their car, their house!!! It was like watching vintage sesame street, I loved it.

I want to add a warning here too: 
~ ! super bad language throughout ! ~
Which is not usually an issue for me - but in this case, it is racist and homophobic language (the worst kind). The dreaded N- word and F- word, so watch out! And be prepared to talk about it. 

This movie is so good, I don't want you to not watch it because of these words (and themes, Troy's visit to the suburbs in particular brings up a lot of tension - and being a Spike Lee film, racial tension simmers throughout) but you will have to be ready to "get into it" if you are watching with kids. Or maybe don't watch it? I don't know the answer really. 

Anyway - after all that, and on a lighter note, I'll leave you with this knock-it-out-of-the-park best-ever opening scene.