Losing Isaiah (2003, DVD)

Imagine waking up one morning only to find out that your child is missing. You search frantically all over to find him, but he's not where to be found. After a while you begin to believe he's dead. That's what happened to Khalia Richards in this 1995 drama called Losing Isaiah. Halle Berry plays Khalia Richards, a junkie who cleans herself up after learning that the son she thought was dead is still alive, and living with another family.
This film deals with many important issues in our society. The first being the issue of race. Isaiah is a black child, who is adopted by a white family. The lawyer, played by Samuel L. Jackson, for Khalia argues that the child should be returned to his natural mother because he needs to know his roots and where he came from. Although we've come a long way over the years, some people in society still cannot over look the color of a person's skin. In one scene the daughter of the adoptive family puts her hand against Isaiah's and says "what's different about our hands?" To which Isaiah replies, "yours is bigger". This is a great line because children do not concern themselves with the color of a person's skin.
The second important issue is drug addiction. In the beginning Khalia is pretty messed up, but when she realizes her son, who she abandoned in a dumpster so that she could get a hit, is alive she fights to change her life around. This just proves that there is a way out if you really want it.
When I watched this movie with my girlfriend she began to get annoyed because I was paying more attention to the movie then her. But I couldn't help it. The movie was very interesting and dealt with many important issues which are relevant to today's society. Losing Isaiah found a place in my heart.