The story of Mr and Mrs Loving takes place in the Unites States of the sixties, a period during which racism was pretty much alive and people of different racial background barely mixed.
The Southern States, in particular, carried some old fashioned racist laws that went back to the Secession war.
But love is blind or should I say colorblind?
Richard and Mildred are friends since their childhood. Both families from the white and black side as well, appreciate each other.
Even during times of racial tensions Cupid would hit a white man and a black woman s hearts. Both would love each other enough to consider a serious engagement such as marriage.
A marriage between both persons is viewed as a blessing in both families and the wedding leads to an outbreak of joy and happiness.
Mrs Loving, however, is very much unaware of the inhuman Virginian laws when she marries her loving husband.
After a police interrupted honeymoon, husband and wife are put into jail.
The Court of Virginia decides to ban the couple from living in Virginia for 25 years, which breaks both families heart.
Mildred and Richard are heading towards Washington DC, where they will face new difficulties and discriminatory behaviors.
Forced to live in a black ghetto that is full of dirt instead of a pleasant home, Mildred gives birth to her first child, a lovely little boy.
While staying in Washington, Mildred has the brilliant idea to write to Senator Kennedy.
After a failed attempt to return to Virginia, miraculously escaping the police, the couple is back.
Mildred s letter to Mr Kennedy won t be left unanswered. A lawyer accepts to take care of their interracial issue, but he fairly warns the couple that it will take years to be handled.
In the meantime, Mildred has two more children with her husband.
As she sees her kids grow, the Court eventually answers.
The final decision s result is a total dismissal of the old, racial Virginian law.
The poignant story that is brilliantly interpreted by Timothy Hutton as Richard and Lela Rochon in the role of Mildred. The story is based on true facts. The Court case (Loving vs. Virginia) created a precedent and totally fought Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law.
It was the key to a first step for more tolerance about interracial marriages in the USA, in the Southern states in particular.
Like it was said in the movie, a marriage is a matter of persons, not of race. The state should not interfere in such private matters. The movie is a pretty good example to prove that true love doesn t consider race nor does it fade away all over the years.
My advice: watch the movie. It is touching and well interpreted. Black music lovers, also lend an attentive ear to the songs played during the whole movie!
Copyright © 2007 by Isabelle Esling
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