Two Distant Strangers 

The short film "Two Distant Strangers," which premiered on April 9th, 2021, was a jaw-dropping expository film on the behavior of racist-America. After watching this film, all you can say is f..... America and f... racists! The basis of the film is the struggle of an African American male reliving the same day as he dies from police brutality. Throughout the storyline, it doesn't matter if the main character stays idle, runs, or is polite with the police. He will always die for the same reason; police officers who exploit rather than enforce the law. Another impactful part of the storyline is where it begins. The main character is waking up from a one-night stand with his romantic interest Perri, played by Zaria Simone. The main character Carter James, played by Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, leaves his romantic interests' apartment in New York City, while an unruly cop named Officer Merk, played by Andrew Howard confronts him, and then kills him. No matter how many times Carter relives this scenario, he never gets through to the officer, but he will never stop until he does.

As an African American in today's society, I couldn't help but relate to the storyline because being black is seen as a disease in America. Being black in America is to question whether or not to call the police when you need help. A direct quote from the short film is, "Listen, the only people happy to see cops are white people and other cops." As a black person, I can confirm that statement because it takes one salty look, and you are on five o'clock news. As Carter tries to get Officer Merk to understand the plights of his people, Officer Merk does not take it in. Carter states, "You guys over-police our neighborhoods, over-punish us, lock us up for life, for some shit white boys joke about in their memoirs. And then we're stuck in a cycle we can't fucking break.'' PREACH!!!! When Carter said those words, I couldn't help but start snapping as if the brother was speaking poetry. Carter's well-articulated words hold weight in today's society because skin color, race, and ethnic background can make a court-mandated sentence longer or shorter. 

According to Georgia State university's Research Magazine, "Compared to white offenders, African Americans who entered prison could expect to serve more time than whites for all violent actions and drug crimes. Prison time among Black people increased by one percent or more each year between 2000 and 2016." Although the film was short, it touched base on many different topics. The main character explained why people who share his same plight might feel they need to commit crimes, "Listen, some people do commit cime. But what choice do they have when white people are born on the third base, and niggas born outside the stadium." The writing in this statement shows how even though the African American community strived to get where we are, society is too racially divided for us to even get our foot on the ground.

Overall, the short film is a must-watch and deserves its title as the 2021 Oscar nominee. The writing is good. However, the acting is a little shaky in the first five minutes but quickly repairs that throughout the rest of the film. I hope it wins an Oscar award this year, so people can realize the message the film gives. The Weekly Binge and Review rates it a 9.5/10.