The biggest film of this week is Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is set to break box office records and turn the internet into a geek-infested tornado in which every frame of its 140 minutes is dissected. A more relevant and timely movie that opens today is Dear White People, a small, indie film about race in Obama-era America that has more than a few resonances for democratic South Africa and its uneasy race relations.Set on the fictional Ivy League campus of Winchester College, the film was inspired by a series of real-life blackface parties held by white fraternities in several US colleges. It was not so long ago that students at the University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch caused outrage in the same way.Director Justin Simien has used this as the jumping-off point of his film, which introduces us to four black students each struggling to construct their identities in the face of the labelling so prevalent in colleges.Sam White (Tessa Thompson) is the angry young black woman, a film major and host of a radio show from which the movie takes its title. She offers white students tips on how to deal with black students - stop dancing, realise that dating a black man to make your dad angry is not OK and so on. Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams) is an awkward gay journalist with an afro so out of control it is developing its own ecosystem.Troy Fairbanks (Brandon P Bell) is the son of the dean (Dennis Haysbert) on his way to law school and public service, determined to show up the white establishment by succeeding at playing by its rules. Lastly there's Coleandrea "Coco" Conners (Teyonah Parris), who wants a preppy white boyfriend and runs her own video blog, desperately trying to hide her ghetto upbringing on Chicago's South Side.The racial tensions on campus build up to a blackface party at which everything blows up and all four of the main characters must face their insecurities and make decisions as to who they are and where they stand when confronted with racism.It has been described as a Do The Right Thing for the Obama generation but Simien's film is more complex than that and its script is full of sharp jokes that explore its many ambitions without the over-the-top anger in some of Spike Lee's work.The idea of a post-racial America is like our own Rainbow Nation, a comfortable umbrella that is illusory and creates more problems than it solves.While the film is often messy, it is a brave and clever attempt to deal honestly with an issue that is too often sidestepped in mainstream cinema. It is a definite conversation starter, and while that conversation might not always be comfortable, it has been proving more and more necessary as evidenced by events on the streets of Ferguson, the fight over the Rhodes Statue at UCT and the rise of the UK Independence Party in England. This is a step in the right direction that entertains as much as it provokes.Also opening Avengers: Age of UltronPreviously, I have described the Avengers as the Travelling Wilburys of superheroism. Now they are more like a G7 summit of world-saving with every member becoming a veritable Angela Merkel of demurely offbeat virility. Peter Bradshow, The GuardianThe book of lifeIt works as a visually dazzling celebration of Mexican culture, though its conventional kids' movie elements leave something to be desired. It's worth seeing for the eye candy alone. Sandy Schaefer, screenrant.comEnemyAn oppressive Kafkaesque tale of a man who meets his double will challenge some and frustrate others.Deborah Young, hollywoodreporter.com..