Releasing on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the riots that shook Los Angeles in the wake of the not guilty verdicts in the police-beating case of Rodney King, documentary Clash of Colors: L.A. Riots of 1992 analyzes the complex political, economic and social factors before, during and after the racially infused catastrophe which claimed 55 deaths, thousands of injuries and more than $1 billion in property damage. Filtered specifically through the lens of the riots’ impact on the Korean-American community, the movie — the significance of its subject matter winning out over staid presentation — tells a story often relegated to the sidelines of most mass media accounts of the event.

Neophyte director David D. Kim, a lawyer and businessman who was Vice President of the Korean Chamber of Commerce at the time of the riots, assembles an engaging and thought-provoking collection of interview subjects, including author Lou Cannon, ex-Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Boyarsky and former pastor Cecil Murray, among many others. Production value is fairly meager throughout, with interviewees shot in a straightforward manner and archival footage sometimes less than smoothly integrated. The crucial context Clash of Colors provides, however, outweighs its lack of slickness. For the full, original review, from Screen International, click here. (DDK Productions, unrated, 81 minutes)