Green Book (5 Stars)

Merry Christmas!

How many of you knew that "Green Book", the winner of the 2019 Best Film Oscar, is a Christmas movie? Well, only just. The film takes place from October to December 1962, but the final scene is on Christmas Eve.

The film is based on true events, though they're highly fictionalised. I didn't consider the film accurate enough to be included in my true stories feature, but that doesn't mean it's not an excellent film. I rarely agree with the Oscar awards, but in my opinion "Green Book" is the best film to be awarded the Best Film award in recent years. (That sentence sounds awkward, but I think you know what I mean).

The film is a buddy movie and a road movie. Tony Vallelonga is an Italian American nightclub bouncer who has no work while the club is being renovated. Don Shirley is a jazz pianist with three PhD titles. Tony is streetwise and talkative with many friends. Don is lonely and aloof.

The main character arc is Tony overcoming his racist beliefs. Living in an all-Italian community in the Bronx, he looked down on negroes. (The expression "African American" only became popular in 1988). Tony thought they were dirty, and he even threw away cups that black plumbers had drunk from. After two months on the road with Don Shirley the two men became friends. Tony even invited Don to his Christmas party.

Don wants a chauffeur for his concert tour of the USA, but the man has to be more than a chauffeur. He wants a streetwise tough guy who can double as his bodyguard. He expects trouble when he performs in the racist southern states. Tony becomes increasingly disgusted by the racism he sees in others. Sometimes it helps to look away from yourself.

The Green Book in the film's title comes from a booklet called "The Negro Motorists' Green Book". In those days most hotels and restaurants in the Southern states didn't accept black customers. The Green Book contained a list of places which accepted negroes, and it was updated yearly from 1936 to 1966. It's sad that such a book was necessary. 

This is the trip taken by Don Shirley with Tony Vallelonga:

• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Columbus, Ohio
• Hanover, Indiana
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Macon, Georgia
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Tupelo, Mississippi
• Jackson, Mississippi
• Birmingham, Alabama

Only the final concert was cancelled. Don refused to perform because he wasn't allowed to eat in the restaurant of the building where he was playing.

Two very different men who came together as friends. There are excellent performances by the two main actors, Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen.

Success Rate:  + 12.0

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