Secrets of the Magic City

This is a movie I would like to add to your suggested movie list. It is not an easy movie to watch. It was made some time ago; I put the movie aside and did not watch it until recently. However, with all the things that are going on today in communities surrounding us. It brings up some serious topics. The name of the movie is “Secrets of the Magic City.” It stars Emmy award winner Keith David and NAACP award winner Jenifer Lewis. It was not an easy movie to watch.

It is the story of two sisters named Tiana and Nia who are reunited after they are abandoned by their drug addicted mother. Later they are placed in a home where they experience violence and abuse. Then they are placed with a relative and they vow never to be separated again. When tragedy strikes and the relative dies, they embark on an adventure where they must survive the mean streets of the city. They meet danger, crime, hostility and constant anxiety.

This movie is important because it focuses on the issues that children face in crime-ridden communities. It shows the lost hopes of many inner-city communities across America. In the midst of violence, murder, guns, fights, and other dangers, our children must grow up and endure situations that they must try to survive. The two sisters in the movie become adults before their time. They see a lot for their very young years. We hear about the guns and murder, the drugs and violence, however, what happens to the children in this environment is not often discussed.

Many of them do not have innocent childhoods and must face the awful negative influences of living in urban communities. At the same time, they are living under these circumstances they must try to go to school and live normal lives. Even though sisters Tiana and Nia face these things daily, they vow to always stay together. They want to maintain some sort of family relationship.

Finally, at the end of the movie they come face to face with their drug addicted mother. Their mother does not want anything to do with them and tells them to “get up out of here.” She is in a drug stupor. One of the girls has a gun in her bag. She takes it out slowly and for a brief moment wants to kill her mother. But she puts it back into her bag. They leave and find a way to another city. They have the address of another relative who takes them into her home.

There is hope at the end of the film. Secrets of the Magic City is a film that will leave you unsettled and reflective on the reality of what happens to children who grow up surrounded by crime, violence, and drugs. This columnist rates this film as 5 stars. There are a lot of lessons in this film about the real life of the city. But in the end, they find hope!!! Hope is all they need and a chance to survive and good people to assist them!!