Prom Night in Mississippi (2009)

People are voting emotionally.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Some prejudices never die. Take the case of the Charleston, Mississippi High School prom. Even though the school system was desegregated a long time ago, the senior class must deal with two different proms, one for whites, another one for blacks. Enter actor Morgan Freeman. He is a native of Charleston, but he left when he was six years old. Mr. Freeman brings an interesting proposal for the students that will be graduating in the 2008 school year: he will pay for the party as long as there is one prom that will bring all the students together for a last night of fun during the last days of their senior year.The students are basically receptive to the idea proposed by Mr. Freeman, yet, the white folks in town, decide to go on with their segregated party that proves to be a dismal failure. On the other hand, the integrated feast goes on without a hitch. This documentary deals with intolerance and ignorance in the heartland. Most whites in that part of the Deep South have kept their own views on the way they perceive relations between the two races. As a result, their biases are passed down to the children that grow up looking down on the kids they attend to school with. While the rest of the country does things differently, these folks in Charleston, as well, we are sure, as in other small communities, deprive the children of keeping an open mind about this issue.The documentary, written and directed by Paul Saltzman keeps a keen eye in the way the young people appear to be more adjusted than the adults.

Just saw the documentary last night. Am still slack-jawed at the fact that just LAST YEAR was a first integrated prom in any high school in this country. HOWEVER . . . I only just NOW figured it out -- it's actually pretty simple. Mr Freeman's initial thought that the kids would be happy about integrating the prom was depressingly undercut by the fact that many weren't -- and that even some of the most enlightened kids STILL WENT TO THE WHITES ONLY PROM!!! But, clearly, the fact that blacks so greatly outnumber the whites in the school means that NO WHITE KID STOOD THE CHANCE OF BEING PROM KING OR QUEEN. I'm sure that several had their hearts set on the crown their entire high school career. Pardon my cynicism, but I wouldn't be surprised if the anger at this little fact alone accounts for the mysterious naming of a white kid as valedictorian. I no longer consider this film to be depressing or complicated. It's just HIGH SCHOOL AS USUAL.

This documentary is about a small town in Mississippi that (to this day) has integrated proms--one for blacks, the other whites! Hard to believe but it's true. Actor Morgan Freeman was born and raised in that town up to the age of 6. He says he'll pay for the school prom--IF it's integrated! Naturally this drays a firestorm of controversy but mostly from the parents who don't want it. The kids do--but they're caught in the middle.Absolutely fascinating documentary. It's inconceivable to think that ANY town in this day and age would have separate proms. The documentary talks to the parents and kids. It's made pretty clear that most of the parents are against it--only a few support it. Also a group of white parents pressed charges against the town to NOT have an integrated prom. They also refused to appear on camera and talk about it. This isn't all about racism--it has some very fun moments. The kids themselves are funny, adult and articulate. The best bit is one boy who ends up with TWO dates to the prom! Also the tone of the film is not hysterical or condemning anyone. They just show you what's happening and has the citizens talk about it. Absolutely fascinating. A 10 all the way.

Saw this yesterday at our film festival, and was very impressed. The film studies the phenomenon of a racially integrated senior prom from several perspectives, mixing student interviews with footage of key events in their prom preparation, like buying dresses and confirming dates. The interviews achieve a happy mix of blunt candor with adolescent innocence, and one comes away with the notion that racism is not so much a yes-no status as a continuum along which everyone can be placed: some kids want to socialize with kids of other races, but would not date them; some parents work hard to prevent their children from interracial dating, but ultimately permit it. This is a film that is destined as a springboard for discussion; it certainly provoked a long talk among the crowd I saw it with.