In praise of 'Bobby'

With the huge amount of dross that passes for entertainment these days, it's a delight to watch a well-made, intelligent new film. 'Bobby', written and directed by Emilio Estevez, tells the story of the last 24 hours in the life of the radical politician Robert F Kennedy, who lost his life to the assassin's bullet at the Ambassador's Hotel, L.A. in June 1968. The film focuses on the lives of assorted characters who were in the Ambassador's Hotel that fateful evening, with numerous clips of Kennedy himself. It's a masterly work, which captures perfectly the enthusiasm engendered by Kennedy's candidature. (Oh for a politician of his calibre in America today!). The film ends with Kennedy's speech on the blight of violence in American society, which he gave on the occasion of the death of Dr Martin Luther King, just a few weeks earlier. It's one of the greatest political speeches of all time and can be read in full here. Kennedy's words are thought-provoking at any time, but are particularly poignant in the light of last week's tragic events in Virginia.