Editor’s Note: This film review by Oliver Stricherz first appeared in The Southerner, South High School’s newspaper, as part of a longer piece titled: In early April, film takes center stage—The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Film Festival through the eyes of a teen. We are pleased to have had permission to feature Oliver’s reviews over the summer. We are excited for this new school year and more interesting articles from South students in The Southerner. Visit The Southerner at https://www.shsoutherner.net/.
While it may be headquartered at the Main Cinema in Northeast Minneapolis, the festival showed many films throughout the Twin Cities metro. Films were spread across 6 different movie theaters, with the majority playing at the Main. This year marked the first year the historic Edina Theatre joined the list of venue partners, which includes The Capri, Pop’s Art Theater in Rochester, the MIA, and Landmark Center. An incredible film I saw at The Capri, the historic North Minneapolis theater, was Ricky.
The film tells the story of Ricky, a Black-Caribbean man who, at 30 years old, is released from prison on parole following a 15-year sentence that he began when he was only 15. The film explores Ricky trying to get back on his feet again and return to society after his imprisonment. The process of returning is difficult, and through an incredible performance by actor Stephan James, we see a man struggling to recover from the dehumanizing effects of being imprisoned. The film also shows complex family dynamics and relationships with Ricky and his family, most notably in the character of Ricky’s parole officer, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, who deeply wants Ricky to succeed and defeat the system created to imprison him and people like him, forever. Overall, the acting in the film is incredible, and paired with the complex story of Ricky and the people in his life, audiences will connect with the film through their own stories. We saw this at the end of the film during a deeply meaningful Q&A with director Rashad Frett—Ricky is his debut feature film—when many members of the audience told stories of their own experiences with incarceration as well as Frett, who explained how many of the characters in Ricky derived from people in his own life who struggled to overcome the crushing systemic weight of American society.
Oliver Stricherz, a senior this year, is a staff writer for South High School’s The Southerner. He is “driven, angered and interested” in human rights and dynamics, hoping to explore human stories.
