Malcolm X 👓
Happy Thursday. I’m continuing my recommendations of films from Black directors in support of the Black Lives Matter protests this week. Stay safe, speak out, and look out for each other. If you can, please donate.
Today’s movie is Malcolm X (1992)—streaming on Netflix. This biopic from legendary director Spike Lee, whose new film Da 5 Bloods premieres on Netflix next week, earned Denzel Washington a nomination for Best Actor, which he lost in one of the more perplexing Oscar choices. He’d later go on to become the second Black actor to win in the category for Training Day. Sidney Poitier was the first winning in 1962 for Lillies of the Field.
[Here’s what it’s about] Malcolm X follows the eponymous man from his poor childhood to his young adulthood that eventually led him to prison and finding his faith as a Black Muslim before becoming the civil rights activist we know today. [Trailer // 202 mins]
[Why you should watch it] From legendary film critic Roger Ebert’s original review: “Black viewers will not be surprised by Malcolm's experiences and the racism he lived through, but they may be surprised to find that he was less one-dimensional than his image, that he was capable of self-criticism and was developing his ideas right up until the day he died.
Spike Lee is not only one of the best filmmakers in America, but one of the most crucially important, because his films address the central subject of race. He doesn't use sentimentality or political cliches, but shows how his characters live, and why.
Empathy has been in short supply in our nation recently. Our leaders are quick to congratulate us on our own feelings, slow to ask us to wonder how others feel. But maybe times are changing. Every Lee film is an exercise in empathy… He puts human beings on the screen, and asks his audience to walk a little while in their shoes.”
📺 Buy or Rent: Prime Video | iTunes | YouTube
Pair it with 🍷
High Flying Bird: High Flying Bird isn’t about basketball, but rather the business of basketball. During an NBA lockout, a sports agent (Andre Holland) politics his way through deals and negotiations to make sure his rookie client (Melvin Gregg) gets his time on the court — that’s a basketball term right? [Where to watch]
I Am Not Your Negro: From the film: “In June 1979, acclaimed author James Baldwin commits to a complex endeavor: tell his story of America through the lives of three of his murdered friends: Medgar Evers, Martin Luther Link, Jr., and Malcolm X. Baldwin never got past his 30 pages of notes.” [Where to watch]
📺 More ways to watch Black films
Criterion, the company that focuses on distributing "important classic and contemporary films,” has removed the paywall on most of its films about the Black experience on their streaming service. Here’s their statement:
We are also using our streaming platform, the Criterion Channel, to highlight films that focus on Black Lives, including works by early pioneers of African American Cinema such as Oscar Micheaux; classics by Maya Angelou, Julie Dash, William Greaves, Kathleen Collins, Cheryl Dunye, and Charles Burnett; contemporary work by Khalik Allah and Leilah Weinraub; and documentary portraits of black experience by white filmmakers Les Blank and Shirley Clarke. We’ve taken down the paywall on as many of these titles as we can, so even if you aren’t a subscriber you can watch them for free.
Support can come in many forms—protesting, donating, speaking, and even listening. Find what works for you, but never stop pushing for change.
See you Monday —
Karl (@karl_delo)