"I Am Not Your Negro" (2016) - Raoul Peck

[Novecento]

I am really hoping to get a chance to see this.

It looks to be incredibly powerful and expertly crafted. It seems Raoul Peck has also taken a leaf out of Asif Kapadia's book because there are apparently no talking heads in this - just the voiceover of Samuel L. Jackson reading Baldwin's own words as necessary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNUYdgIyaPM

[greenbudgie]

I've seen clips of this and it's been recommended by the TV film reviewer that I watch regularly. I like documentaries and it looks as though this one has been done in a unique way. I look forward to seeing it.

[Novecento]

James Baldwin's eloquence was bound to render this a profound viewing experience regardless of how this was put together. It goes without saying that his words are as powerful today as they were back when he wrote (and spoke) them.

In terms of pure craftsmanship...

- Samuel L. Jackson reading Baldwin's words reminded me a little of Kris Kristofferson bringing Billy the Kid back from the dead in Feinsilber's documentary "Requiem for Billy the Kid". The crucial difference being that Jackson is reading Baldwin's own words interspersed with clips and recordings of Baldwin himself, whereas we have nothing in Billy the Kid's own words. While Jackson does not, nor was he trying to, sound like Baldwin, by the end of the documentary you really felt like Baldwin was speaking to you through Jackson. Needless to say, the effect was quite powerful.

- Raoul Peck had clearly taken a leaf out of Kapadia's book by eliminating talking heads. This was very welcome, yet the result was not quite as effective as in Kapadia's "Senna" or his still compelling yet undeniably lesser "Amy" ("Amy" secured an Oscar as opposed to "Senna" no doubt because the judges were more familiar with her than him rather than out of any questions of merit - or perhaps they were making amends for the snubbing of "Senna"?). The problem seemed to lie in editing and use of footage that did not always weave the disparate source materials together as a complete story, but rather sometimes jarred you out of the moment. Sometimes this was for effect, with scenes from today being shown along with scenes of the past (to show how Baldwin's words still resonate today), but a better approach would have been to marry the old and new footage together better (I'm thinking of how Larraín combined real footage with newly shot footage in the JFK funeral scene in the film "Jackie").

All in all, this was still a cut above the rest in terms of presentation and definitely worth viewing even if only for its incredibly valuable content.