The documentary Rat Film is a mesmerizing tale of the city of Baltimore told through its relationship with rats. Baltimore is full of interesting characters. Johns Hopkins is, of course, at the center of the story. A professor at Hopkins devised a new rat poison when the war cut off supplies of traditional rat poison from the Mediterranean. But killing the rats is just treating the symptom. A different professor wanted to tackle the disease itself. Ecology fostered an environment that was favorable to rats. By improving the living conditions of Baltimoreans, they would reduce the rat population. But where are the rats today? They are in the poorest neighborhoods, unjustly kept poor by policy and practice. Theo Anthony stares unrelentingly at the cold truths of racism and inequality in the Greatest City in America.
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