4 Little Girls: The most tragic casualties of war

With the difficulties facing the movement, the local organizers contacted national leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Reverend James Bevel who began to lead marches and nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham. This was met with increasing hostility and violence, not only from members of the Ku Klux Klan, but also from local government, though the distinction between the two was not always clear. With Police Commissioner Eugene "Bull" O'Connor driving his infamous white tank through the streets of Birmingham, and Governor George Wallace physically blocking doorways to prevent school integration, it seems things were destined to get worse before they got better.

The film highlights several disturbing examples of escalating violence, particularly a disrupted march at Kelly Ingram Park just months before the church bombing. A brick was thrown by an unknown party and within seconds, all hell broke loose, with fire hoses and dogs turned on the protesters, including many young children. Lee interviews several African Americans who were there that day, but the most chilling statement comes from a white politician who was away at college at the time. He recalls telling his fellow students that he was surprised there wasn't greater violence, that fire hoses and dogs weren't the worst thing that could happen. This statement seems callous, perhaps even racist, but worst of all, it proves frighteningly prophetic.

Lee opens the film by introducing the four girls and their families, and having covered the tension building in Birmingham, he now returns to the private world of the victims. Instead of rushing to the death and destruction, Lee allows the family members to linger on that morning's last precious moments; the everyday routines and silly details taking on incredible resonance in light of what's to come.

While avoiding exploitation, Lee does address the actual explosion and he doesn't shy away from the horror of the inflicted violence. As witnesses describe the moments directly after the blast, Lee cuts to photos of the dead bodies, only to quickly cut away again, conveying the destruction caused without glorifying it in any way. Again, the film uses personal testimony to illuminate larger social ills, as the mother of Denise McNair recalls the rage she felt toward a condescending nurse who couldn't understand her need to see the body and didn't have the decency to use her full name. At this moment of utter loss, even her grief was marginalized.

4 Little Girls depicts

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