A movie about how black people can enrich the lives of whiteys (Spoilers!)

Rating: 2/10 (10 February 2003)

This movie was offensive to me. I felt (and I am sure people will be happy to disagree with me) that the black character in this film was trivialized and ultimately only served to further the white characters lives.
Just to illustrate, the character is not intelligent. He is overtly meant to symbolize Jesus Christ, but he is not smart. The white characters, with very few exceptions are not racist (in the South, in the 1930's!? and before you say anything, I live in CO now, but grew up in Mississippi). So you have this group of death row guards, who care about the prisoners, except one mean guard. You have this eight-foot-tall black man who is dumb and scared. However he can raise the dead. I realize this is supposed to be magical realism, but switch this to Germany in the 40's, make the black guy jewish, and the guards nazis, and nobody would buy it. Death row guards in the South were as racist then as they are today. Working on Death Row does not make you sympathetic to prisoners, it makes you cold and angry.

***SPOILERS****(although if you haven't seen this, don't. Go rent Dead Man Walking)
Forget the obvious historically inaccurate premise. Let's just look at the fact that this is an uplifting movie when the most sympathetic person is killed, and Tom Hanks lives to be 300. It is obvious that this is yet another movie where black people are meant to be only helpers to the white main characters (Legend of Bagger Vance, Ghost, Song of the South). Even though this character is physically, morally, and supernaturally superior to everyone else, he uses his powers only to help the white guards, not to escape, or survive, but to die that Tom Hanks might live. If that is it, then this movie is a tragedy.
This movie is pure crap. I gave it a 2 for the cinematography. Tom Hanks plays a fatter version of his normal part, likeable white guy (when will this guy play a villain?). Stephen King provides the story (thanks for writing about the South, Stephen. You're from Maine right?). Together they manage to trivialize everything from the Civil Rights struggle to the Bible. Nice work, guys. Hope you enjoy the money.