The Great Debaters

This film is set in 1935.  It's based on a true story and stars Denzel Washington, who also directed the film.  Washington stars as a professor at Wiley College.  He is the leader of the school debate team.  The school is a negro school and Washington attempts throughout the film to express his political views through his students.  The climax of the film is when the team gets invited to debate Harvard, the leading white team in the nation.  A last minute topic change creates tension in the team as they try to write their arguments (something that Washington's character had previously done for them).  The team form Wiley college ends up winning the final debate, and the film ends this way.  The film itself is a great commentary on the time in which it is set.  One great line used in the debates is "In Texas negroes get lynched." I enjoyed the social commentary of this film and highly recommend it.