It's been a lot of years since Spike Lee revisited his Chronicles of Brooklyn series, which includes films like the classic Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn, Clockers, and the most recent, He Got Game. Since that time we've seen Lee take many of the the themes inherent in those films: culture, family, race, community; and try to present them in a larger context. While he's found success doing that with his documentaries, the results have been mixed elsewhere. Part of what has so many excited about Red Hook Summer is Lee being able to revisit those ideas with his signature personal touch.
The first trailer for the eagerly awaited, controversial film has been released, and it's a clear throwback to the passionate work that marked Lee's early career. Lee has never needed a ton of money or special effects to make his movies pop with dazzling colors and vibrancy, and this might be the best he's ever made Brooklyn look. The story centers on Flik Royale(Jules Brown), an Atlanta native who is brought to the titular burough to spend the summer with his Bible-thumping grandfather, Bishop Enoch Rouse(The Wire's Clarke Peters). Being the new kid in an entirely new neighborhood is tough enough, but when Enoc starts trying to convert Flik into a follower of Jesus Christ, things get heated real fast. Only when Flik finds a connection with Chazz Morningstar(Toni Lysaith), a young girl his age, that he starts to discover that maybe Brooklyn, and his life as a whole, aren't so terrible.
The passion Lee has for the film and for Brooklyn radiates from every nostalgia kissed frame, and Peters looks to be in top form. The audience at Sundance was mostly split on the film, with some marking it as a return to form, and others getting pretty angry over some decisions Lee makes in the second half. Whatever problems they had may be a thing of the past, though, as we know about 14 minutes were trimmed from the running time. More than just a spiritual and creative return for Lee, he also reprises his role as Mookie from Do the Right Thing, although he insists this isn't a sequel.
Red Hook Summer opens in limited released on August 10th. Check out the trailer below...
