To mark 25 years since the Los Angeles riots, Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin put together archive footage comprising newsreels and home videos that document the city-wide carnage that followed two major events in 1991: the fatal shooting of African-American teenager Latasha Harlins by a Korean corner store clerk and, six months later, the brutal beating of African-American Rodney King by four white police officers, caught on video tape. The clerk was convicted but served no jail time; the police officers were initially acquitted. Violence, arson and looting ensued. The use of archive without voiceover means there’s a flatness to the way the events are presented; LA 92 shows how these events were reported on TV but lacks its own commentary. It’s an immersive if not particularly edifying experience.
