I Am Not Your Negro

To watch this documentary only once would be to do it a disservice. It needs to be watched again, with intense focus, an open mind, and an open heart if you are to see what James Baldwin demands, rightfully, be seen, understood and acted on.

A brilliant and heart-wrenching portrayal of the reality of racism in America. Some technical annoyances with narrative over clips with audio that are detract from the otherwise flawless execution.

É muito bom em chamar a atenção ao pensamento racista no país da suposta democracia, mas sinceramente achei o narrador de uma petulância e de pouca sutileza, ficando muito atrás da potência dos discursos do Martin ou do Malcolm. Vale pelo registro, com um arcabouço de imagens instigantes, além de passar a genuína sensação que a história está aqui, à espreita, que ainda vivemos em tempos de racismo real.

A fine collection of powerful images, prose and messages that, regrettably, never coalesces into a cogent, well-organized whole. Despite its insightful parallels between Baldwin's observations and contemporary events, the film's narrative is all over the map, desperately searching for direction to get its points across. There's probably a good movie in there somewhere; it just doesn't show in the finished product.

This is not as impactful as people think. This has been done to death and the documentary brings nothing new to the table. I'm really surprised this is where it is on this list. It's as if critics feel they have to elevate anything that talks about race, sexuality (especially non-heterosexual sexuality), or gender. I mean, tell those stories, but at least bring something new to the table. This does not.