I Am Not Your Negro (2016) Online

There are so many ways to feel and experience and comment on this film.

AS A WRITER: For lovers of language, phrasing, and meaning, hearing James Baldwin's writings and seeing him speak is enough to spark the highest praise alone. His capacity for observational conclusion and his use of language to transmit these conclusions is extraordinary. In this, he is one of the finest chroniclers of the American condition, not just one of the finest African American chroniclers. If you don't believe that going into this movie, you will when you come out of it. Spending close to two hours listening to the man's work is an utterly intoxicating experience. In this regard the film is extraordinary.

AS A FILM LOVER: We know that James Baldwin was a cinephile and one of the great film critics in American history. He wrote extensively about cinema and a large part of this film consists of clips from Hollywood's rough history of reducing or falsifying the black American experience, often with Baldwin's own criticisms laid on top of them, weighing the clips down, eviscerating them. There are hard juxtapositions here as well, such as the innocence of Doris Day pressed up against the reality of lynched black men and women swaying in trees. By contextualizing these images in new and fresh ways the film is able to paint an impressionistic portrait of American denial. And despite a small handful of shots that don't entirely synergistically ring with the Baldwin text (I'm thinking of a few clips – by no means all - that the filmmaker himself shot), there are enough times when the words being spoken and the images being shown are so surprising and spot on as to be true, high, art. In this regard, the film is extraordinary.

AS A HUMAN BEING: The greatest moral failing of this nation is not its imperialism, not its militarism, not its materialism or escapism or consumerism, – though the film makes a strong case that all these things are tangled together – America's greatest moral failing is its racism. And the scalpel procession with which this movie uses Baldwin's words and character to autopsy this vast cultural sin is inspiring. Baldwin himself was never a racist, though God knows, I wouldn't blame him if he had been. Baldwin was never a classist or a nationalist or a demagogue of any sort. Baldwin was a man. He demanded that he be perceived as a man and that black America be perceived as people, with all the dignity and rights that affords. He looked America in the eye and asked a simple question, why do you NEED to dehumanize me? And he followed the question up with a statement, as long as you dehumanize me, America can never succeed. It was not a threat. It was another of his observational truths, the idea that our racism undoes us, keeps us from being great. In the way "I'm Not Your Negro" illuminates Baldwin's call for a higher humanist agenda, the film is extraordinary.

AS AN ACTIVIST: The film implies that the most horrifying thing you can do to a movement is to kill its leaders. Not just because you deny dignity and rights to the people who look to those leaders for hope, but you also impact the movement for generations. The natural order of generational transition, that a great leader will grow old, evolve, change, and teach the next generation how to lead, is violently interrupted. What we are left with is the idea that there is nothing Malcolm X or Martin Luther King could have done to keep from being killed except to be silent – not an option for either, nor for Baldwin. X was killed even as he was becoming less militant, less radical, reversing against the idea of "the white devil". This "evolution" did not save him. King was killed even as he was becoming more radicalized, more desperate, slowly walking back the rule of love for the rule of forced respect. This "evolution" did not save him. There was nothing the White America that killed them wanted from them but silence in the face of dehumanization. And in its subtle, artistic, nuanced way, this film is about all of that. But it also ties itself to the moment. Images of Ferguson, photographs of unarmed black children left dead in the streets by police, video of Rodney King being brutalized beyond any justification, all of it means that Baldwin's words ring timeless, his call to action not remotely diffused by our distance from him and his time. In this regard, the film is extraordinary.

AS A LOVER OF PEOPLE: Baldwin is by no means a traditionally handsome man, but he is a striking one. His charisma is nuclear and his face is always animated. When he speaks, the depth and warmth of the content play across his features. His eyebrows lift all the way to the middle of his forehead when he pauses to gather his considerable intellect for attack. His eyes turn down and to the right when he knows he's eviscerating an illegitimate institution. He punctuates an observation with a smile so genuine and wide that it emits its own light. To watch him command a talk show or a lecture is cinema enough. In that it gives us the gift of watching Baldwin speak – among so many other things - the film is extraordinary.

I guess I have some small aesthetic qualms with the way the film is put together, but to what end? These are my own little opinions about the tiniest minutia of filmmaking. Personal hang- ups on a certain cut here or there, useless criticisms on a work that succeeds so profoundly in all the most valuable and important ways.

The film is extraordinary, important, and genuine in any and every way that matters, and that's all there is to it.

Note that the reason this is 5/10 stars right now is that there is a large bloc of people who have given it 1 star (presumably the white supremacist crowd). There is no way that anyone who believes in the need to tell black history would give this anything less than an 8/10.

This cinematography was absolutely incredible, the use of historical footage to stitch together a narrative of the Civil Rights movement combined with recent footage makes this movie incredibly timely. James Baldwin proves a brilliant orator, and the story takes you through both his life and his relationships with Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. This movie tells more black history than I learned in my entire public school education, and should be seen by everyone.

This documentary tells the story of the horrible history of the United States of America just decades ago, when the law and the public openly allowed horrifying discrimination based on race. Three individuals who spoke out against this terrible and sustained crime against equality were murdered. This documentary focuses on these three brave souls who met their untimely death.

It is almost out of this world to see how discrimination and abuse happened as if it was normal. The archival footage are plentiful and very well selected in this documentary. What people said in front of camera in support of discrimination was horrific. I could not believe there was even someone singing about the murder of the African American activist.

This documentary captivates my attention and evokes my emotions.

James Baldwin began a book called "Remember This House" but died before completing it. It intended to weave together the stories of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers into a tapestry of the black American experience. In "I Am Not Your Negro," Samuel L. Jackson reads the finished portion of the manuscript, and filmmaker Raoul Peck sets the words to images from the Civil Rights Movement and the current Black Lives Matter movement. The result is a bracing and deservedly angry film that captures better than anything I've read or seen yet the reasons behind the frustration and outrage of American blacks.

There's a marvelous moment in the film when a philosophy professor challenges Baldwin on the Dick Cavett Show for his attitudes, and basically holds Baldwin (and by extension black people) responsible for the continuing racial divide. His message seems to be "you're the one making an issue out of this, not me." Baldwin's take down of him in eloquent words that I won't even begin to try to replicate captures the essence of the entire film and the black struggle for equality.

And Baldwin's criticism doesn't stop at racial issues. He also denounces American popular and material culture in general, accusing Americans of letting consumerism anesthetize them into a false sense of happiness and contentment that allows them to ignore all that is wrong with the American way of life.

This is a movie that made me furious at America for continuing to stick its head up its ass when it comes to the subject of race. Watching Baldwin's heartfelt distress over the Civil Rights Movement juxtaposed to recent images from the news made it crystal clear that America has not progressed as much as it would like to think it has.

Grade: A

PROGRESSIVE CINEMA - One of the most artistic and daring political statements at this years Toronto International Film Festival, was the world premiere of Haitian-born Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro, based on James Baldwin's unfinished book Remember This House. Not surprisingly the film won the People's Choice Documentary Award for its "radical narration about race in America today." Peck is from Haiti and has created one of the most progressive filmographies in cinema history. He actually received privileged access to the Baldwin archives because the family knew of his outstanding works on the Conga leader, Patrice Lumumba, specifically the 1990 political thriller Lumumba: Death of a Prophet and the 2000 award winning drama on the same subject, Lumumba. They trusted in his ability to accurately represent Baldwin's life and writings, and so he took 10 years to bring this masterpiece to the screen, after being rejected by every American studio he approached. And public agencies said "this is public money so you have to present both sides!" Thus, his ability to produce this film through his own successful company and a supportive French TV station ARTE, allowed him to make a film exactly like he wanted, with no censorship, and no one telling him to rush the film or mellow the message.

Peck "didn't want to use the traditional civil rights archives." He chose to avoid the talking heads format and picked Samuel L. Jackson to embody the spirit of Baldwin in the potent narration. The film's powerful structure utilizing rare videos and photos and personal writings of Baldwin, and at the same time aligning them with contemporary issues of police brutality and race relations, creates a mesmerizing awareness of the continuity in the struggle for civil rights.

Baldwin made a deep impact on the young impressionable Haitian filmmaker. Peck remembers back in the 60s when mostly white Americans were honored in pictures on walls, and that "it was Baldwin who first helped me see through this myth of American heroes." He felt that Baldwin had been forgotten or overlooked, while James Meredith, Medgar Evers, the Black Panthers, Huey Newton, Malcolm X and other Black leaders were either killed off, imprisoned, exiled or bought out. There were rare exceptions on commercial TV, once where Baldwin talked on the Dick Cavett Show for an hour uncensored.

Baldwin, although a literary giant and a close friend to many leading activists, rarely appeared at events and mass rallies, and declined membership in parties or groups such as the NAACP, Panthers, SNCC, etc. And although he was homosexual, rarely focused on the issue of gay rights, which would have been even more isolating in those decades. Rightfully, this film brings to life Baldwin's poetry and passion for justice, and regains his importance in the field where art intersects activism.

While addressing the enthusiastic audience in the Q&A, director Peck mentioned, "I hope this film will help rephrase what is called the race conversation, which deep down is a class conversation." Although class wasn't developed as much as race in this film, not coincidentally, Peck is now in post-production on a drama about young Karl Marx(!) – a major historical figure who has rarely if never been a subject in America cinema. And all of Peck's previous films are imbued with a deep sense of awareness in the class struggle.

The director was a special guest at a TIFF Talk entitled Race and History where he covered many of the points mentioned here about taking control of your own artistic project. He defended the idea that an artist has a point of view and shouldn't be forced to compromise his political message, whether it's acceptable or not. Near the end of the conversation I was able to ask him a question about how difficult it is to market films on race and class. He responded by saying "I come from a generation that was more political and where the film content was more important. . . I tried to keep the content but provide a great movie. . .All my films are political but I make sure I tell a story, that it's art and poetry and that the audience will enjoy it." He confesses that he's privileged having his own company and that his films don't always have to make money. "It's about financing your movie, not making a profit. . .It's difficult to have those two sides in your head, because you know that having to make a profit means you often have to compromise. . .Once I have people trust me with their money, I am obliged to give them a great film -- I'm not obliged to give them profit." And he gave them a great film! I Am Not Your Negro was recently purchased by Magnolia Pictures for North American distribution, where they praised Peck for crafting a "profound and indelible statement that couldn't be more timely or powerful."

I've been on a roll lately with my movie choices. I've seen one delight after another and I get to add this movie to the list.

I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary based upon the writings of James Baldwin in which the essence is Black-White race relations in the U.S. James was an eloquent writer and speaker so I may be doing him a disservice by summarizing the documentary as such. He'd probably say it was a lot more than that--and it was. In it we got an ode to Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. These three iconic figures of the Civil Rights era were all killed within five years of each other and none lived to the age of 40.

There was a lot of riveting and provocative imagery in this documentary and it certainly will not appeal to a lot of people. There are some ugly truths about the American past that we all want to move on from but we'd do well not to forget.

I loved the film. If for no other reason than being treated to seeing and hearing James Baldwin speak. He was a brilliant and eloquent speaker and I had no clue. One thing mentioned was how Malcolm X, MLK and James Baldwin all had different view points and different approaches to the problems of Black people in America. They all spoke a truth as they had different backgrounds and different outlooks. But what is undeniable is that they all had the uplifting of their people in mind and all three personalities were invaluable to the African American cause.

This is a documentary that is going to disturb you and wake you up out of your reverie. The film is replete with historical footage and photos as well as recent footage--there are clips as recent as present day Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump--so you can't just relegate the picture to "old news" or "stuff from the past". It is relevant and as James Baldwin alluded to: it is a problem that has to be fixed because the survival of the country depends upon it.

This film should be required for every American. It is one of the most important films of our time. It is lyrical, profound, historic and of this moment. And, at the same time it is profoundly intimate. James Baldwin is right here with us, front and center, looking right at us, talking with us, imploring us to consider the urgent questions he raised 50 years ago that are as urgent today. Thank you Raoul Peck. This is a masterpiece. It is as poetic as it is a demand for white people to come to terms with how they have constructed blackness and what, indeed, this means about whiteness. Peck includes one of Baldwin's most famous statements on this in the film: "What white people have to do, is try and find out in their own hearts why it was necessary to have a n*#!er in the first place. Because I'm not a n*#!er. I'm a man, but if you think I'm a n*#!er, it means you need it. . . . If I'm not a n*#!er here and you invented him — you, the white people, invented him — then you've got to find out why. And the future of the country depends on that. Whether or not it's able to ask that question." This is it. Our future depends on it. Baldwin cannot say it more clearly.

I'm not your Negro" directed by Haitian Raoul Peck, is based on the unfinished writing of James Baldwin on the lives and deaths of three prominent figures of the Civil Rights Movement of the sixties, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers, all, three of whom were assassinated before the reached the age of forty. Before the main title we see a clip of Baldwin on the Dick Cavett talk show, which will be reprised several,times during the film. Baldwin is himself the person most seen throughout, the star of the film, so to speak -- but others include Malcolm X, Luther King and Evers, plus Robert Kennedy who was also assassinated within the same time frame, and, of course, Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte. A long sequence from Stanley Kramer's "The Defiant Ones" shows Tony Curtis and Poitier on the lam but bound together by prison chains, forced to cooperate in order to survive even though they hate each other -- the best clip in Peck's film. Many other clips were I thought far less irrelevant to director Peck's intended massaging -- basically, it seems, intended to make white viewers feel guilty. We see Baldwin addressing an enthusiastic crowd at Cambridge in England and a number of other similar scenes spaced out throughout the picture as he becomes an international celebrity. There is much graphic footage of violent police brutality against black demonstrators with Baldwin's commentary heard over --and hateful white demonstrations against "niggers" right up to the present day -- Ferguson, etc., but randomly interspersed.

The overall tone of the film is quite bleak delivering the message that it is up to white America to change their indifferent attitude on race relations if they are ever to improve to the point where negroes are totally accepted and integrated fully into the society, while not holding out much hope that this will ever be achieved. The only slight ray of Hope is a flash of Black president Obama and his wife, after we see Baldwin wryly saying that, within another forty years a black man might become president "If we behave ourselves" -- oddly enough it was just exactly forty years later that Obama was elected. Peck makes extensive use of film clips from Hollywood movies (Dori Day, etc.) meant to demonstrate the complacency of White America and their lack of concern for the plight of black people. John Wayne is shown in an extended clip from Stagecoach shooting down Indians right and left. References to the Wounded Knee massacre and other atrocities against native Americans are used to imply that the Negroes who were raised as children to root for John Wayne are actually victims just like the Indians and should have been identifying with the Indians not the cowboys.

The picture is divided into sections with chapter like headings on a Horizontally split black and white screen as a visual metaphor for the black white racial divide. In between poetic visual sequences not really related to the main line of the narration are inserted for some kind of effect which I found pointless and distracting filler. J. Edgar Hoover, notorious head of the FBI puts Baldwin on a dangerous persons list to be watched and underlines his homosexuality because of his outspoken anti-Racism. However, Baldwin was not nearly as radical as some of his contemporaries. He disavows the Black Panthers on the grounds that their ideology which demonizes all white people, is simply untrue. Not all white people are devils. He also refuses to identify with the NAACP movement on the grounds that it tends to promote divisive class distinctions in the black community.

in sum, Baldwin was an independent thinker whose thought never strayed from demanding that the white community as a whole must take responsibility for their racism and deal with it honestly on their own. He lived most if his adult life as an ex-pat in France. While this film gives a detailed summary of racism and anti-racism in the sixties my feeling was that it is rather heavy handed and incoherent in a way that Baldwin himself might not have been very happy with. Moreover, rather than make me feel a sense of responsibility as a white person, it mainly served to make me realize how basically alien American black culture is to me. All in all I was disappointed in the film although I came to it with very high expectations. At the five PM screening at the Music Hall cinema in Beverly Hills there were only five viewers besides myself. The film is not packing them in. Seems to me Europeans are more interested in American race relations than well off white Americans. It was far better attended and positively reviewed at the Berlin film festival.

James Baldwin said of actress Sylvia Sidney: "Sylvia Sidney was the only film actress who reminded me of a colored girl, or woman - which is to say that she was the only American film actress who reminded me of reality. ... I always believed in her." Baldwin was an aficionado of classic film, and director Peck uses vintage footage to reflect this. Peck stated that he had a "great team of archivists" locating footage that would underscore Baldwin's commentary on film and film players. So, where is Sylvia Sidney? Her omission is an unfortunate oversight. Most appalling is the use of Doris Day's image juxtaposed against the lynching of a black woman. As if Day were responsible for such atrocities. While Baldwin claimed that Day and Gary Cooper were "two of the most grotesque appeals to innocence the word has ever seen" -- was he aware that Day's father had married a black woman? Was he aware that Day had an affair with African-American baseball player Maury Wills? Was he aware that Day had starred in one of the first anti-KKK films (Storm Warning) in 1951? For Peck to insert the image of Doris Day in such an undeserving spot, in an otherwise absorbing film, does great injustice to her. It would have better suited the purpose of I Am Not Your Negro, to include Baldwin's commentary on Ms. Sidney, and feature a clip of her in Street Scene, or Dead End .... where she reigned as cinema's Depression Heroine.

This film is a brilliant, no-holds-barred depiction of the TRUTH as it happened and was experienced by one of the most brilliant talents the world has ever known. There is good reason that it has been nominated for an Academy Award.

Do expect to be disturbed because racism, sexism, and the effects of an evil regime are always disturbing -- such as current events continue to horrify "human beings" on a regular basis. However, for the person with evolved, emotional intelligence, being disturbed sparks powerful thoughts and action with higher consciousness.

It is to be expected that those who are comfortable avoiding racial and racist truths will be upset by this poignant documentary. They will do everything from claiming that this is hate-mongering to insisting that the film-making itself is substandard. It is true that the racist will always attempt to claim righteousness and "caring" by casting aspersions on the works of others to avoid facing his/her own truth. As Octavia Spencer's character said to Kirsten Dunst's in HIDDEN FIGURES: "I'm sure you believe that."

How you respond to this film is an opportunity to evolve what you don't know and what you already (believe you) do know. The choice is always yours to think, to grow, to communicate, to evolve -- or not.

This documentary is a wonderful opportunity to not only see the world and life through the eyes of a genius, but to see your views of your life and world right now.

I saw this on a DVD screener and You have to love Samuel's narration. I enjoy his astronomy documentaries. This film doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a documentary or just a hate-filled rant against the wrong people? I'm an autistic black man, myself. Maybe there is something I'm not getting, but I don't blame any white people for my problems. All that racial stuff in the movie happened decades and decades before anyone alive today. Most of my doctors are white (and one lady from Jordan) and they are AWESOME. If you look for the good in people, you will find it in all colors(including Whites).

I think it is important to have a historical perspective, but you have to do it without blaming your neighbor now. Did anyone read the bible? Love thy neighbor. If there is someone specifically who does me wrong, I don't blame his entire race. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I say LOVE, not HATE.

There are many films which don't live up to their promise. This isn't one of them. Over the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in the breadth and scope of James Badlwin's incredible work. A complicated public figure from the 50s through the 80s, Baldwin's writings especially unraveled the narrative of a sameness within the Civil Rights era. He was a black gay man who felt passionately about the Civil Rights movement and who served as a major intellectual voice. In this film, Baldwin's work--which you get the sense the world wasn't yet ready for back when he was alive- - is forthright, intricate, rich with humanity and compelling in its case for inclusiveness, equality and for America to not become a hypocrite in its love for liberty. It is undeniable that the public conversation on race in America has once again resurfaced as a crisis. In every dimension of public life, we see and hear complaints of injustice, and we also witness the pushback. The purpose of this film-- as evidenced by its tapestry of older and contemporary clips alongside each other-- is to give new eyes and ears to the Baldwin asked us to see the world. It is a beautiful, touching and politically critical piece of work, and one that is long overdue for such a brilliant mind.

I am well aware of how divisive conversations about race have become in the last 2 years. I suspect that much of the negative views voiced about this film are from people who are not willing to even watch it and who have decided that to shut their minds out from its message, or to even be challenged by a work of art. It's a disgrace that large swaths of people are trying to bring down the user reviews of this film by giving it only one star. It speaks of their gross immaturity and barbarism. If anything, everyone should watch this film. Not just judge it. But watch it.

The Oscar-nominated 2016 documentary feature "I Am Not Your Negro" (PG-13, 1:35) is based on the work of African-American author, essayist, playwright, poet and social critic James Baldwin. So, to understand what this film's about and how it came to be (30 years after Baldwin's death), it's imperative to know something about Mr. Baldwin. James Baldwin was born in 1924 and raised in Harlem. Disillusioned and frustrated by the treatment of blacks in post-World War II America, he moved to Paris, but returned to the U.S. in 1957 to do what he could to help in the intensifying struggle for civil rights.

No matter where he was, what was going on or who was criticizing him, Baldwin wrote, lectured and appeared on television talk shows explaining what he believed and advocating for social justice. Besides reflecting the experience of blacks and gays in America, Baldwin's writings were, according to Wikipedia, "eagerly consumed by whites looking for answers to the question: What do blacks really want? Baldwin's essays never stopped articulating the anger and frustration felt by real-life black Americans with more clarity and style than any other writer of his generation." This film offers many such insights.

Baldwin's 1972 book "No Name in the Street" chronicled his experiences as a black man in 1960s America, focusing especially on the assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. – all personal friends of Baldwin's. This book can be seen as the genesis and the core of "I Am Not Your Negro", which also fleshes out 30 pages of notes Baldwin made for a book (to be titled "Remember This House") that he had intended to write before he died. This movie tells the story of racial issues in America in the middle third of the 20th century through the eyes of a noted participant and one of its most insightful observers. If only the film had been able to live up to the potential of its source material.

This film uses Baldwin's words (and words consistent with his thoughts, as extrapolated from his final unfinished manuscript) that go deeper than most in explaining the historic racial divide in America and chronicling the experiences of himself and others who lived through and participated in the height of the American Civil Rights Movement. We see Baldwin on screen periodically throughout the movie in archival footage from his speeches, academic lectures and appearances on TV talk shows. The rest of Baldwin's words (including the gaps filled in by screenwriter and director Raoul Peck) come to us through the expert narration of Samuel L. Jackson. Much of the history referenced in the film is illustrated through news footage from the 1960s and many of the points made by Baldwin and/or Peck are made through depictions of blacks and whites in movies and TV shows and commercials. There are also a few relatively recent photos and video clips which make the film seem more relevant than it is.

"I Am Not Your Negro" is an important movie whose potential is overshadowed by poor filmmaking. Besides reminding Movie Fans of some of the history of the struggle for black civil rights in America, the script delivers some valuable insights that will force audience members of all backgrounds to rethink some of their preconceived notions and long-standing assumptions about how people of different backgrounds perceive each other. In addition, some of the video segments and photos which appear on screen have rarely been seen in a cinematic production. Meanwhile, Jackson's narration matches Baldwin's voice so closely that it's easy to forget that you are listening to the distinctive voice of Samuel L. Jackson, creating the effective illusion that it's Baldwin speaking to the audience the entire time.

Unfortunately, these significant positives are outweighed by negatives in the film's design and execution. "I Am Not Your Negro" never bothers to explain or even reference its own title during its runtime and has almost no narrative thread. Events and commentary seem to appear almost randomly and with very little effort to establish context or significance. Instead of using Baldwin's brilliance to shed light on the current racial divide in America, Peck seems content to leave Baldwin's observations in the past where they're frozen in time and place. Worst of all, the film lacks any positivity and offers no hope or ideas on how we can move towards a true post-racial society.

What we're left with is little more than reinforcement for those who are already inclined to find racism in the deepest crevices of American society and in the most innocuous comments and actions of its people, while adding to the sorrow of well-meaning individuals who insist on wallowing in the guilt of injustices that occurred before their time and for which they're not personally responsible. I can't help but believe that Baldwin would be disappointed in how poorly his views are articulated and how badly they are squandered in a film which has gained enough attention that it could have made a real difference in moving forward the conversation about race in America. What a waste. "C-"

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Playwright James Baldwin charted the history of black oppression in the US, and the struggle to overcome the odds throughout his life, after returning from a period of self imposed exile in France. In 1979, he contacted his agent to propose a new novella Remember This House, about three of his friends, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., who were all killed before the age of forty in their respective struggles to attain civil rights. But Baldwin never completed this work, dying before he could finish it, and Raoul Peck's documentary is an imagining with Samuel L. Jackson's voice over, about how it might have panned out.

The struggle for black equality in the US is a veritable history all of its own, that could provide countless hours of filmic content in various works. I must confess this Baldwin gentleman is someone whose name has never crossed my path before I came across this intriguing looking piece, but clearly he was a great authority on the subject of black history and the prejudice faced by the black population of his time. At times, he comes across as an overly intellectual sort, whose ramblings become a little overpowering. He spends the first part of the film dissecting the inherent racism apparently portrayed in the golden age of American cinema, with John Wayne and Gary Cooper shooting the Native Americans, creating a very particular image of the hero and the villain.

In narration duties, Jackson was maybe not the best choice for the job, his voice a bit too thick and deep in comparison with his subject Baldwin, although his appeal is not lost on the viewer. What really makes it hard to digest is the unstructured style of the storytelling, which makes it hard to keep track with the numerous interesting threads the story throws up. While it highlights a great many of the terrible, genuine bigotries and inequalities that black Americans had to overcome in the past, the collision of past and present is a little hard to digest. The juxtaposition with the modern day tribulations of Black Lives Matter, a violent, criminal group that has been shown to terrorize those who do not bow to its every whim, undercuts the true struggles faced by the likes of Dr King, and ridiculously perpetuates the myth black people face the same sort of struggles today.

This is an interesting idea to explore that yielded great potential, but sadly it's all a bit too weighed down and laced with false victimhood to be really great. **

A documentary that adapts James Baldwin's unfinished book 'Remember This House' recounting the lives and assassinations of Martin Luther King Jnr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Not much to say other than this one of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time. Powerful material delivered like a story with the aid of archival footage, photographs, newsreels, Hollywood film clips, debates from the civil right era all to suggest Baldwin's writings. Nominated for the Best Documentary Academy Award, 'I Am Not Your Negro' is a rare cinematic achievement about an issue that is still so relevant today. You can't take your eyes off it nor your mind.

Narrated by Samuel Jackson (who does a fantastic job, by the way) and featuring American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet and social critic, James Baldwin, I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary built around Baldwin's books, essays, letters, notes, interviews, photographs and an unfinished manuscript he was writing at the time of his death in 1987. Remember This House is a 30 page incomplete memoir which reflects on Baldwin's personal recollections of and relationships with civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr, and it also serves as the foundation for this documentary. Framed by a thought provoking 1968 interview Baldwin gave Dick Cavett on The Dick Cavett Show, I Am Not Your Negro also tells some of Baldwin's personal story as it relates to race in America based on his own experiences.

There are a few impactful aspects of this work. Baldwin was a thinking man with a great ability to articulate his thoughts quite clearly and in a way that persuades you to agree with him, or at least consider the validity of his statements and his way of thinking. He had a unique gift; an ability to allow people to see things from his perspective – from the African American perspective. That's no easy feat; particularly when the historically tense issue of race relations in America is the topic of discussion; and I'd imagine it was especially difficult during those times when Baldwin was the only person of color present as he addressed a room full of white men.

Secondly, the continued significance of Baldwin's words is sad, profound and astounding. His 50 year old interview could be spoken nearly verbatim today, as, unfortunately, Baldwin's points are still applicable. I Am Not Your Negro demonstrates this fact with strong supporting evidence that is hard to argue with.

The way director/writer/producer Raoul Peck and this team built a documentary around these 30 pages of words and crammed it full of history from slavery to very near the present day is brilliant and beautiful and ugly and powerful. Some of the footage is painful but all of it is valuable and all of it is important.

More than anything, what made me sad while watching this documentary was the realization that many of the people who need to see I Am Not Your Negro the most, will probably never bother. I'm sure the racists, the bigots, the hate mongers, the small minded trolls who hide snugly behind their keyboards, will have plenty of disgusting things to say about this movie, Baldwin and black people, like they always do. And I am willing to bet you none of the aforementioned would dare sit down and seriously watch it and listen to it, considering the cowards that they are deep down. I'm talking about those who are afraid they may have to do some independent thinking and some work on themselves and make some changes in their lives and to their thoughts and in their hearts, and dare I say… admit they might be mistaken in their beliefs.

Baldwin reminds us that we have been ducking and dodging the subject of racism in this country for far too long and it is glaringly obvious that this approach is getting us absolutely nowhere. It needs to somehow be addressed head on, as it is here, if anything is ever expected to change for the better, as we are currently living witnesses to too many changes for the worse. It remains the elephant in the room that comes up at every single opportunity, and there's a reason why it comes up and why it will continue to do so. It will exist until we all face it, admit we have a problem here, figure out how to deal with it and at least try to work it out.

I Am Not Your Negro is an excellent, must-see documentary for all. My one small complaint is that for what may be the very first time, I wish a film were longer. This is a documentary that is chock full of information and I, for one, would have appreciated if a bit more time had been taken to relay it all. I mean, the energy of the piece is absolutely amazing, so maybe it's me who is a bit slow. It just seemed very jam-packed with information and visuals, at times, as you must keep up with which historic event is being highlighted. There is so very much to see and listen to and take in and process here. If you see it once, you might want to see it again to catch the things you might have missed the first time. And you wouldn't mind one bit.

This documentary lends evidence to the fact that as far as we would like to believe we have come as a nation we have been lazy and complacent, we have been doing just enough to make ourselves feel better about ourselves – but it's not enough – and we still have a lot of work to do and much, much further to go when it comes to what we call "race" in America. I Am Not Your Negro digs into the gaping, unhealed wound of racism, prejudice and oppression unapologetically and forces us to take one hard, blunt, hour and thirty five minute look at ourselves, what we've done to one another, and as a result, what we have become. Go see it now!

This film brings genius author James Baldwin to life. His words and message are tremendously relevant today and help us understand how much work we have to do to understand race in the United States. Baldwin says "I am not a ( n word that IMDb won't let me write and for good reason), and for white people to need there to be such a thing is something white people need to figure out." As a white artist and social activist focused on undoing racism and studying and teaching the tremendous artistic legacy of African Americans, I could not agree more. I so appreciate the film makers artistry in bringing Baldwin to life right here right now. Baldwin's intellectual rigor combined with his fearless expression is a treasure to behold. Thank-you!

I am only beginning to discover the work of James Baldwin, such was the insularity of my high school and college experiences decades ago. Raoul Peck has done a masterful job of conjuring Baldwin's words (through the voice of Samuel L. Jackson) and examines the unfinished process of trying to write about the assassinations of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. This is a heady task for anyone, much less a friend to all three, and to hear Baldwin's own words on the matter of race in mid-century America is heartbreaking and brutally honest. Mr. Peck has done a fabulous job of designing his study of Baldwin's writing, and the curated text is especially appropriate for our tortured 2010s. This movie should be required viewing.

The nominee for the best documentary feature at the 89th academy awards, I Am Not Your Negro is already considered a cinematic spectacle in its own essence by a variety of critics. The poignant and cogent documentary is realistically scathing the contemporary and prevalent disenfranchisement of African-Americans with a retrospective narration of civil rights era's horrendous and dehumanizing conditions that prevailed less than a generation ago.

The principle figure in the documentary is the celebrated African- American essaying and novelist James Baldwin (1924-1987). It is based on his unfinished manuscript of the novel Remember This House in which he documented his personal views on the civil right movement, the precarious conditions of African-Americans and his engagements with civil rights activists like Medgar Evers(1925- 1963), Malcolm X(1925-1965) and Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968) who were all assassinated for their stance and activism on equality, civil liberty and the emancipation of African-Americans from a system that oriented its legitimacy and policies on slavery and Jim crow heritage.

The documentary director is the Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck. We remember him from his existentially nuanced works, like the documentary Lumumba (2000) which is about the Congolese freedom fighter and first prime minister of independent Congo Patrice Lumumba(1925-1961) who also demised at the hands of US and Belgium intelligence operatives. It is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson with a sonorous voice that arrests the viewers attention and initiates an irresistible compassionate empathy for the 'lived experiences' of African-Americans. Raoul Peck draws much of the narrated script from letters and notes written by James Baldwin during the 1960s and 1970s and wove video clips melodiously with them, and the result is a sublime and original documentary film .

I Am Not Your Negro, is a necessary intervention at a time when the global world is marred by racism, xenophobia and a deleterious identity politics. The resurgence of nationalism based on negativism (Brexit) and the mushrooming of the likes of Donald Trump and 'strongmen' across Europe discloses how

humanity failed to transcend an excruciating 'modern' racism and the failure of 'project Humanity' – multiculturalism, Tolerance and plurality. The documentary exposes the facile in modernity's claimed progress when it comes to issues of race and 'humanity' of black people in general.

Raoul Peck, reminds us of this gawking reality that the conditions of African-Americans has not changed at all – think of the Black Lives Matter and Baltimore uprisings. It is hard to avowedly enunciate the difference between what James Baldwin and his ilk faced and the contemporary challenges faced by African-Americans and Black people across the world. We exist in a continued adversary and detrimental conditions - in terms of economic, psychology and identity - that our parents experienced not so long ago. The issues James Baldwin begrudged and grappled with is what this millennial generation articulates and ventures to 'face and solve' with all its intricacies. Hamid Dabashi, the Iranian philosopher praised Raoul Peck metaphorically in a recent Aljazeera article that he '' has poured Baldwin's beautifully aging wine in a masterfully crafted new bottle''.

This year we have witnessed and exulted at the monumental towering of films by Black actors and directors with Moonlight, Fences and The Birth of A Nation taking center stage in cinema. The subject of their themes has been peculiar to African-American lives and its historiography as it meandered through the turbulent waves of the American dream. James Baldwin emphatically comprehended and discerned the African-American pariah figure and her conditions throughout his oeuvres and director Raoul Peck clothed it with a superficial cinematic poignancy and authenticity. I Am Not Your Negro lacks any blemish and I posit confidently that it's the documentary-film of this year 2017. Highly recommended for all.

This is a pastiche film that blends archival footage and photographs with old Hollywood movie clips and a running dialogue of Baldwin's words from the few seeds of a book idea he only started. It never seamlessly all fits together in a satisfying manner, but most of what Baldwin spoke of all those years ago, unfortunately, still rings true today.

An important film to be sure, but it didn't really tell me almost anything I didn't already know, although I would guess I am in the minority here. As the great Frederick Douglass stated long ago, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will." That is true whether one is on the 'wrong' side of the color line, the socioeconomic line, the political line or the gender line.

Considering the limited source material and what the director was trying to (ostensibly) achieve, it was well put-together technically, but even at 1:35 it felt a little long. Still, Baldwin's words remain powerful, and seeing him and hearing them all these years later reminds us of the old saw, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."

James Baldwin and his views of racism in the U.S. are the main focus of this documentary with special attention on the assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. The film includes live footage of Baldwin in the 1960s (on the Dick Cavett Show and at a lecture at Cambridge University) and readings (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) from his unfinished manuscript "Remember this House".

From the start, it is clear that Baldwin had an intellect and outlook that were far superior to the average person - not just during his life (he died in 1987) but even more so today. He is very eloquent in expressing the repugnance of an evil whose effects continue to resonate today. He is even more so when he describes theories that racism is a result of a deeper problem in the soul and collective mindset of the U.S. One such malaise is the quest for an unattainable ideal of "purity" and the inevitable self-loathing that follows this self-delusional pursuit. Other such problems include materialism.

Baldwin's mind is so much above that of the average viewer that there is a slightly mixed result. At times, one feels distant - and possibly inferior - to the mindset being expressed but overall, the viewer is rewarded with insight that is rare in other sources.

Considering the rich history of this film, it is disappointing that some information was excluded. Baldwin had two prejudices against him. In addition to being black, he was also gay. This fact is alluded to only briefly during the film. There are also surprising negative comments he made against Bobby Kennedy. Research after the film revealed that Baldwin and Kennedy did not get along despite supporting a similar cause. The film might have been more rewarding had it explored more on both of these topics.

The footage is brilliant and shocking at the same time. After this movie, one is left with many uncomfortable feelings that lead to a lot of thinking - a sign it has fulfilled its purpose.

For those expecting the creator of "I Am Not Your Negro," the new racially incendiary documentary based on an unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin, to be culled from the ranks of a new crop of young black militants, guess again. The documentary is by the 63 year old, Haitian-born, Raoul Peck, who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo and now spends most of his time as head of a film school in France and living in the US. He's also an unrepentant Marxist whose next film is scheduled for release as the "Young Marx."

Peck's comments at a recent Q&A made it clear that he's been a fan of James Baldwin from time immemorial. He was able to get the rights to Baldwin's entire oeuvre including the unfinished manuscript "Remember This House," which explores the history of race relations through the prism of the three fallen African-American icons, victims of assassins during the 1960s: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers.

Peck has assembled an extraordinary treasure trove of archival footage which he has seamlessly edited, and conscripted the noted actor, Samuel L. Jackson, to read Baldwin's words as the voice-over narration. Visually, Peck rivals Ken Burns as one of the master documentarians of today.

There are many clips of Baldwin speaking (on the Dick Cavett show for example) as well as newsreel footage from the 50s and 60s, highlighting the many instances of racist behavior on the part of white American society, particularly during the civil rights era. Baldwin's wrath and Peck's too not only indict the obvious southern racism of the times but those of northern whites too—Robert Kennedy is particularly excoriated for paying lip service to the aims of the civil rights movement. Peck also intersperses images of more contemporary victims of police brutality (such as the Rodney King beatings and Trayvon Martin).

Peck has a particular fondness for American films from the 50s, particularly musicals, which he views as saccharine and out of touch with the reality of violence against African-Americans throughout American history. In one instance, the "lily white" image of Doris Day is contrasted with the next set of images—a group of turn of the century blacks, lynched by white (presumably southern) racists.

Much of the documentary features Baldwin's incessant diatribes against the "white man." Peck makes it clear that Baldwin's focus is more on "class" than "race." One might surmise that Peck is arguing that the entire social structure must be changed before equality is achieved between the races. But that seems to be a baseless canard as Malcolm X is shown (at least before his trip to Mecca) as a clear opponent of integration and brands Martin Luther King Jr., his so-called "comrade- in-arms" in the civil right struggle, as nothing more than an "Uncle Tom." Underneath all the militant babble about the need for "respect" and "dignity", it's economic equality that is truly being demanded here.

The problem with Peck's documentary is that it's all wrapped up in the figure of the chain-smoking provocateur, Baldwin. Unlike Peck, I am no fan of Baldwin, whose negative, "the glass is half empty" outlook on race relations, is more than grating.

The failure of Peck's documentary revolves around his lack of balance—there is no attempt at self-criticism of the African-American community—one comes away from I Am Not Your Negro with an image of African-Americans as an exclusively noble group demonized by whites. One of course cannot ignore the extremely deleterious effect racism and discrimination had on African-Americans throughout our history but how can anyone move forward if one embraces a culture of victimology?

Instead of Baldwin, perhaps Nelson Mandela should have been Peck's subject here. Unlike Baldwin, who spent years of exile in France, Mandela was imprisoned for years by a racist South African regime. Unlike the negative Baldwin, who held little hope for racial reconciliation, Mandela went out and immediately established truth and reconciliation committees and forgave the white community for the years of Apartheid in South Africa, working for racial reconciliation until the end of his days.

Peck is no doubt an extremely talented filmmaker whose choice of Baldwin as his documentary subject is unfortunate. One wonders if Baldwin was truly committed to economic equality or simply enjoyed getting a rise out of his audience--flipping the proverbial "middle finger" at the very people who appeared to welcome and revel in his demeaning insults.

"I am not your Negro": An unrestrained portrait of Race in the United States

"I am Not Your Negro", The James Baldwin documentary, is an unrestrained portrait of race in the United States. That is no surprise since it is based on his life and writings. From his life in France to his last works and speeches, this movie takes us on a journey with Baldwin and his lessons of historical racism.

The film looks at media portrayals of race, from the Black mama, to the slave, to heroes like Sydney Poitier whom for White liberals was the definition of the acceptable, strong black male. However, for many Blacks, Poitier was the figure that allowed Whites to forgive themselves, as Baldwin writes. His roles allowed Whites to believe they weren't racist, cause hell, they liked this Poitier fellow.

The famous quote goes, "The story of the negro in America is the story of America." Baldwin doesn't mean all history, he means the real history that you won't read in the history books. He means the tragic tale that made America possible, from slavery to segregated schools, to the military and the prison industry.

The movie made my head hurt, just like what happens when I read Baldwin. So many of his lines have so much in them. They are multi-layered pictures of reality. They are unflinching in its condemnation not only of the racists but of the liberals that congratulate themselves that they don't use the wrong words or that they have Black friends or associates. But, as Baldwin points out, these liberals don't bother to cross the street to have dinner with Black families. The movie is dense like a rich cake that changes flavor the more you eat.

During the film, Samuel Jackson reads Baldwin's words about Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers, all people Baldwin knew well. We also see footage of his discussions on race and from a very interesting interview with him on the Dick Cavett show. Cavett missteps with some questions to Baldwin, but from the clips we saw, Cavett was smart enough to let Baldwin explain his position. When a philosopher comes on the show and contradicts Baldwin's views on race, Baldwin eloquently explains why this man is incorrect on race because "his is a view of what he wants things to be, not of things as they are."

Interspersed throughout the film are scenes of modern day conflicts between Black communities and police: riots, beatings, killings from Ferguson and elsewhere while Jackson reads Baldwin's words. Clearly, Baldwin's words are still relevant today.

Rating: Pay Full Price, see it Twice.

There is nothing I can criticize here. Baldwin's words, the use of archival footage, the music, the editing were all spot on. And Samuel Jackson reads Baldwin's words nearly flawlessly.

Peace, Tex Shelters

This documentary is without a doubt one of the greatest documentaries regarding the black (and white) experience in America. I was glued. You if you have not seen it I say it is a MUST SEE.

I was riveted to it and cried through it because I remember the times of which it spoke and it spoke to me. In the end Baldwin says "Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed that is not faced." I believe if one sees it it should speak to you. It should especially in this hour of Trump be required viewing in this nation in every school of this nation. I was so moved! This must see is profoundly brilliant. White supremacists and Trump SHOULD see it but I am sure will not. If they do it should make him and them feel profoundly guilty for the racist divide they are helping perpetuate. United we stand but divided we surely will fall. Those who view this piece of artistic excellence should heed what it has to say.

Very powerful

I loved Samuel L. Jackson's voice over in this film. Some of the best most dramatic work he has done in a long time.

The type of connection I get when you know the problem, but means more when you hear other people articulate the problem.

And how awkward that James Baldwin's words still ring so true, a little too true. Wish it was a little washed down cause that would mean African Americans went somewhere further since the 60s.

But that's why we need documentaries like this. We are doomed to repeat ourselves which is why we need to know our history.

http://cinemagardens.com