Ever since his debut with “She’s Gotta Have It” critics and audiences have noticed the timeliness of Spike Lee‘s movies — that the world he portrays doesn’t change for the better certainly has something to do with it. So now that his latest joint, “Da 5 Bloods” is premiering on Netflix in the middle of world-wide protests against police brutality and racism, Spike Lee is being asked about the timeliness of his film.
READ MORE: ‘Da 5 Bloods’: Spike Lee Finally Makes A Worthy, If Bloated, War Epic [Review]
In an interview with Variety, Lee talked about the timing of the film’s release. “I cannot take any credit for this. The film was shot when it was shot,” Lee said. “It was ready to come out when it was ready to come out. And then the world changed for everybody. When something is repeated all the time it becomes a cliché … but that doesn’t mean it’s not the truth. And the truth I’m talking about is timing is everything. This film’s coming out at the right time for the world we live in.”
Delroy Lindo, who has collaborated with Lee on several of his films before reuniting for “Da 5 Bloods), says the film is timely regardless of specific current events. “Broadly speaking, he tries to work from the center of the culture,” Lindo said. Investigating things that are germane, pertinent to the most challenging, the most, quote unquote controversial, but the most challenging aspects of the culture of what it means to be Black in America.”
“But even if [the murder of] George Floyd had not happened — and we all wish it had not happened — [this movie] still would have a relevance from the standpoint of the place that Spike works from and compelling the culture to look at itself and its issues,” Lindo expanded.
