CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

runamokprods Thoughtful and quietly disturbing as opposed to having the more open rage of most documentaries dealing with modern racism. In Mobile Alabama, 2007, there are still two Mardi Gras celebration, one white, one black. The weirdly uncomfortable anachronism of two 'separate but equal' parades and balls is defended (primarily by the whites) as preserving history, and as not racist, but somehow more inclusive. And it does seem like both sides of the color line are in no rush to lose their own celebration for fear of being swallowed by the other. This is a far more subtle and complex study of the nature of race relations in America than we usually get to see. It's clear that one day the wall will come down. We see the King and Queen of the black Mardi Gras visit the white celebration, and vice versa -- marking tentative and deeply awkward steps to the time when a future generation will marvel that there ever were two Mardi Gras. But for now we also see how deeply race has split and wounded the town, so that it's almost as though two worlds exist in different dimensions in one space, occasionally seeing each others ghosts as they float by each other.

unkoftitan I love the South dearly because of its flawed but rich past, and this film captures the beauty, complexity, and even the shame of the South in way that only a great documentary can. On the surface, its a film of two Mardi Gras parades---one white and one black---in Mobile, Alabama, which is the site of the oldest parade of this type. This account of moneyed white elites and earnest striving blacks, both proud of their history, and looking for a kind of middle ground in the face of a dark past is a poignant portrayal of a unique slice of America life. Watch it and draw your own conclusions about race relations. You'll be happy you took the time, and you'll be better off for the experience.

chuckamok2002 I enjoyed the film a lot. There was one lady who related a story about how celebrities who performed in Mobile in the early days had to stay with black families in their homes because they were not allowed in hotels. She said that the famous singer Paul Robeson stayed with her family and even sang a lullaby to her when she was an infant.A great story, if in fact it were true, but I tend to doubt her story as she referred to him on, I think, three times as Paul "Roberson" or mister "Roberson". If he truly did sing to her, would she, as an adult, continue to mis-pronounce his name? His name was Paul Robe-son, no "R" in his name. It was a common error at the time, but surely not for someone who grew up with that story for 30 some years.

ebrid9000 This is currently a better synopsis of the film: "This film does a credible job of showing how Mardi Gras has progressed, or not progressed, in Mobile, Alabama which is the city where the first US celebrations started in 1703. Much is made of the segregated societies, both black and white, still wanting to keep their groups separate and it gives the wrong idea to a lot of people who have seen it. The Globe and Mail in Canada says: "A study of community ritual, pomp and camaraderie, 'The Order of Myths' also gradually unveils the startling connections between the two communities, where the great-grandchildren of slaves and the great-grandchildren of slave owners still live highly segregated lives." This is patently untrue of the city and it's citizens. True, Mardi Gras groups, all but a couple of them, are segregated by race but it is what each society wants for themselves. Freedom of Assembly is a basic tenet of our Constitution and both races, as private organizations, are free to admit whomever they please. Mobile has had a very diverse city and county government for decades and currently has a black mayor, Sam Jones, elected by a wide margin in the last balloting. He is well liked by most everyone in the city as far as I know and will be a shoo-in next time. The movie presents all the parades and balls as just silly merrymaking but with it's emphasis on racial segregation gives the impression of Mobile having separate water fountain, back of the bus, Old Time Southern Democrat forced segregation." - iPhone1954