Watch "Romper Stomper" for an Australian take on this theme

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2002)

American History X is one of the best dramas i've seen in a long time. The direction is excellent and it was a great choice to film Derek's past in black and white, which is highly symbolic of his racial views of the world at that time of his life. The direction is highly expressionistic with slow motion and extreme close-ups used extensively throughout.
The Australian film "Romper Stomper" should be billed as a "double feature" of sorts with this film. That film follows a group of neo-nazi skinheads around Melbourne and shows the racial hatred directed towards the asian population in the city. Whilst it deals on resolving issues & conflict within the skinhead group itself as opposed to resolving their racial weakness, it gives a great representation of the Australian struggle with racism the same way American History X does for the USA.
American History X - 9 out of 10, only because the ending was a tad predictable and the change in Derek's character could have been explained a bit better.