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Based on Aristophanes' play in which the titular character
rouses women to stop the Peloponnesian War by going on a sex
strike, the movie sees Lysistrata try to persuade rival gangs to
lay down their guns by using the same technique.
The film is named after street slang comparing Chicago, the
United States' third largest city, to conflict zones in the
Middle East.
Its trailer begins with a statement saying "Homicides in
Chicago, Illinois, have surpassed the death toll of American
special forces in Iraq".
"We have to develop the capacity for empathy for people who
aren't like us, don't talk like us, look like us. They're still
human beings," Lee told Reuters, citing the example of
9-year-old boy who was shot several times in Chicago last month.
"We have to care about human lives ... We should all be very
angry about the execution of Tyshawn Lee ... It doesn't matter
whether his father has got gang allegiance or not. No 9-year-old
anywhere on this earth should be shot twice in the head with a
bullet, five shots in the body, executed."
Musician and television host Nick Cannon and actor Wesley Snipes
play gang leaders Chi-raq and Cyclops respectively while "Mad
Men" actress Teyonah Parris portrays Lysistrata.
"Sometimes it's good that audiences feel angry. Audiences felt
angry after 'Do the Right Thing', audiences felt angry after
'Network', audiences felt angry after 'Apocalypse Now'," Lee
said. "Channelled anger is not always bad."
"Chi-Raq" is released in the United States on Friday.
(Reporting by Rollo Ross in Los Angeles; Writing by Marie-Louise
Gumuchian in London; Editing by Alison Williams)
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