The 24th

Back on my run of watching all the films available on Sky Movies in alphabetical order. The next was "The 24th", a film that I'm assuming went straight to streaming, due to Covid. I wasn't sure what to expect from the story, and my expectations were turned on my head at the start of the third act.

In the early part of the twentieth century, the twenty fourth regiment of the United States Army is not sent to fight in Europe, instead they are building an army training facility on the outskirts of Houston, Texas. The regiment is made entirely of black soldiers, with the exception of the officers. Unfortunately, their uniform does not increase their station in the eyes of many of the surrounding community, and the men face racist abuse outside and within their camp. One night, in 1917, following a particularly grave incident, the situation boils over in tragic circumstances.

I felt this film, whilst with good performances, felt a little "TV movie" to score higher. I suppose what I mean by that is that what I assume was a relatively low budget, didn't stretch to make an entirely convincing military base, rather than just a few tents. I had, perhaps naively, assumed that we were going to see the regiment earn they superiors respect and be sent to the front line, or at least we'd see the films main character, Cpl Boston played by Trai Byers (who also wrote the film) progress somehow. Instead, events take a much darker turn and the actions of the soldiers doesn't feel like (at least within the confines of the story the film tells) a proportional response to what they believed had occurred that night. It was a jarring twist and not entirely believable, given the personalities of the men we'd met thus far, even if it is based on a true story.

I wasn't aware of the Houston riot of 1917 at all. In the last few years it has fallen to films and TV to provide some of those missing history lessons, such as the Tulsa race massacre, that would happen a few years later. Sadly in the century since this happened, situations like this haven't become a thing of the past entirely and the films relevancy is still pointed.

This was an excellent movie. It did a good job of showing the struggles African Americans endured.

Decent retelling of a true story that I was not aware of, and of more relevance in a time all these years later when we now have the "black lives matter " movement

"The 24th" is based on the Houston riot of August 1917. The Twenty-fourth United States Infantry Regiment, a black regiment, was stationed in Houston, Texas in 1917 shortly after America entered World War I. This was a period when officially sanctioned racial discrimination throughout the South was enforced through the so-called "Jim Crow laws", and the presence of black troops near a strictly segregated Southern city was resented by many white citizens, leading to increasing racial tensions. Black soldiers were subject to discrimination, harassment and provocation by whites, especially by the all-white police force. The riot was sparked when rumours spread that a white mob was planning to attack the camp where the soldiers were based. The rumour was false, but in the summer of 1917 it was a plausible one, as racial violence had recently erupted in other American cities. The rioting soldiers marched on white districts of the city; in the ensuing violence around 20 people were killed.

The main character in this drama is William Boston, a black soldier who stands out among the others because he is clearly an educated man; in fact, he has a degree from the Sorbonne. Although he is keenly aware of, and resents, racial injustice, he has joined the army to fight for his country because he believes that white Americans will be more sympathetic to the cause of racial equality if they can be persuaded that their black countrymen share their patriotic ideals. (Having been educated in France, he is also a Francophile who supports the Allied cause). Boston attracts the attention of Colonel Norton, a relatively liberal white officer, who is impressed by the young man and wants him to enter a training school for black officers.

Boston is also lighter skinned than most of his fellow soldiers, some of whom regard him as a "mulatto", as mixed-race people were then known. Although he insists that both his parents were African-Americans, this, along with his education, is something which sets him apart; white society insists that he is black, but other black people see him as partly white. He initially rejects Norton's idea that he should train as an officer, but later reconsiders the idea; he is being given the chance to hold a position of authority and responsibility in a society which has been very reluctant to offer such positions to black Americans. When the riot breaks out, however, he must decide where his loyalties lie, and has an even starker decision to make when the rioters are court-martialled. Trai Byers, an actor I had not previously come across, is excellent as Boston, as is Thomas Haden Church as Norton, a man who finds his liberalism tested to destruction by the riot.

A feature of the film is director Kevin Willmott's use of colour, or perhaps I should say his lack of use of any bright colours. The predominant tones are browns, khaki and dull yellows- the colours of the soldier's uniforms, of their tents, of the buildings and of the dried grass towards the end of a long, hot summer. The intention may have been to give the film a bleak, sombre look, in keeping with the predicament in which the soldiers find themselves.

When the anti-racist film "Crash" won the "Best Picture" Oscar in 2005, a common reaction (especially among supporters of the rival "Brokeback Mountain") was that racism was yesterday's problem rather than today's and that films about racism were therefore outdated. A lot has happened in the last fifteen years, however, to make us realise that racism has not gone away, despite the election of America's first black President in 2008. Even if bigotry against other races is not as vicious as it was in 1917, it nevertheless remains a major problem both in America and in many other societies. It is significant this film appeared in the year which saw large-scale Black Lives Matter protests around the world after the death of George Floyd. It is an uncomfortable reminder of a period of history which many Americans would prefer to forget, a period when black lives did not, in the eyes of many white people, really matter. As Boston's fiancée Marie says when he speaks to her of "the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", "We ain't got none of them rights, all we got is wrongs". 8/10

The low ratings are not based on the quality, story or worth of the movie as I perceive. This movie is based on real events that go to the heart of what America was and in many places still is. To see this side of America hurts those that refuse to acknowledge America the Beautiful - ugly evil warts and all. It is well presented, well acted, well told. It is worth seeing, if not for the quality of the film, then for the truth of the film. And, it is worth seeing with the whole family. Note that this is not a family movie, but rather a movie that reflects us. Truth hurts, but truth shall set you free.