A film experience

Although the film is based on history, “Red Tails” is no staid documentary. It is an action-packed experience that plunges the audience deeply into fast-paced World War II dogfights. It also draws the audience into the brotherhood of black fighter pilots facing the battle against Nazis and racism. The film gives a realistic look back at the struggle of the first Tuskegee Airmen to be recognized as capable pilots despite a long history of prejudice in America’s military.

“We had an agenda of really inspiring and uplifting youth. It’s one page being turned out of many in getting our stories told,” Hemingway said.

Nate Parker, who plays flight leader Marty “Easy” Julian in the film, said portraying a character based on a real person made him feel a greater responsibility to give an “honest and true” performance. Parker, 32, said connecting with the experience of being a young black man in the era of Jim Crow was easier when he began to draw the parallel between the obstacles of the young men of the 1940s with those of modern times.

“The men then are the men now,” Parker said. “We’re still dealing with a very alive struggle.”