9) North Country
Part of the reason 12 Years a Slave and Fruitvale Station are so profoundly upsetting is that, particularly when considered together, they illustrate the historical roots of racism as well as the ingrained prejudices, ignorance and misunderstanding that persist right up to the present. Being historically removed from the events depicted in 12 Years doesn’t lessen its moral punch but perhaps intensifies it. Likewise, North Country, the nearly forgotten but important and impactful 2005 film, portrays brutal sexual inequality and injustice from more than a generation ago but feels entirely relevant to today’s social climate.
Perhaps the reason it packs such a punch is from the way I just described it: more than a generation ago. That’s disturbingly recent. But the events depicted in the movie, culminating in the United States’ first successful sexual harassment lawsuit in 1984, are not only depressingly familiar, they’re barely in the past. And they’re as disgusting, disheartening and depressing as abuse depicted on screen can get. Post-viewing fury is a guarantee, and what I find even more upsetting is that director Niki Caro, who also directed Whale Rider, has only directed one movie in the almost ten years since.
