The 24th

Kevin Willmott, U.S., 2020, 113 min.

AARP St. Louis and Cinema St. Louis are pleased to co-present Soul Cinema, a series of three films focused on issues of race relations.

From acclaimed filmmaker Kevin Willmott — director of "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America" and Oscar-winning co-screenwriter of Spike Lee's "BlackKklansman" and "Da 5 Bloods" — "The 24th" tells the incredibly powerful and timely true story of the U.S. Army's all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment and the Houston Riot of 1917. The Houston Riot was an uprising by 156 African-American soldiers in response to the brutal violence and abuse at the hands of Houston police officers. The riot, which lasted two hours, led to the death of nine civilians, four policemen, and two soldiers, and resulted in the largest murder trial in history, which sentenced a total of 19 men to execution and 41 men to life sentences. Among the film's stars are co-screenwriter Trai Byers ("Empire"), Mykelti Williamson ("Forrest Gump," "Fences"), and Thomas Hayden Church ("Sideways," HBO's "Divorce"). Hailing "The 24th" as an "affecting historical drama," the LA Times writes: "Willmott presents the events as a tragic explosion of violence, one that feels both inevitable and futile, created by the same vicious circle of fear that exists today. In many ways, his classical approach to the filmmaking leaves us vulnerable to the gut-punch of the film’s climax and resolution. For even though we know what’s coming, nothing can really prepare us for the sense of helplessness that follows and the reminder of the persistent need to do better and be better."