Remember the titans informed me about the past in a passionate way. I believe everyone should see this movie because it is very inspiring.

If you have forgotten what it was like during the Civil Rights Movement and forced busing, or you were too young to be there, Remember The Titans intensely recaptures the historical and cultural tensions of the time. The action takes place in the insular white upper middle class community, of Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971. This is the first year of forced busing of the high school, and most importantly the football team, including forced appointment of two black coaches.

Denzel Washington leads a stellar cast directed by Boaz Yakin. Washington explosively portrays the new head coach, Herman Boone, appointed against the wishes of the school board, supplanting the beloved white coach, one season away from being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Boone’s duty is to bring together these warring factions and create a winning team. Ryan Hurst, playing Gerry Bertier, the team captain, empitimises the conflict of the white players and their community.

They confront their us and them bigotry as they are challenged to form a unified team. Symbolically, Coach Boone takes the team away for training at the campus of Gettysburg College. Boone is militant in his approach to coaching. One night, he wakes the boys up at 3:00 a.m. and takes them on a grooling run. At dawn, their run ends at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. Clearly, the battle is continuing into the present day with the forced busing of unwilling participants.

Racial lines blur at the camp, only to be redrawn upon their return to ongoing racism at Williams High School. My emotions soared from outrage at the racial injustice, to falling in love with the dynamic characters, to jubilation when the team, high school, and community came together as one. The acting is riveting, the setting is compelling, and musical score is some of the best of the era.

A must see.