Every city has a side it doesn’t show the world, and this riveting documentary explains why that of Los Angeles is more dangerous, explosive and racially charged than most.

Most know the Crips and Bloods as rival gangs, but the truth as told by narrator Forest Whitaker and interview subjects from original gang members to real gangbangers is infinitely more complex. It’s the story of institutionalised racism and a virtual third world enclave of poverty and lack of opportunity that makes South LA a tinderbox that has exploded before and will do so again.

Director Stacy (Dogtown and Z Boys/Riding Giants) Peralta lets the story tell itself, though more photographic history would have helped.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 1st, 2009 at 3:47 pm and is filed under DVD Reviews, Empire, Film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.