I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.

Director:

Raoul Peck

Writers:

James Baldwin (writings), Raoul Peck (scenario)

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 29 wins & 46 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Narration (voice)
James Baldwin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Malcolm X	...	Himself (archive footage)
Medgar Evers	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Harry Belafonte	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul Weiss	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dick Cavett	...	Himself (archive footage)
H. Rap Brown	...	Himself - Black Panther Party (archive footage)
Bob Dylan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Leander Perez	...	Himself - White Citizens Council (archive footage)
Sidney Poitier	...	Various Roles (archive footage)
Ray Charles	...	Himself (archive footage)
Doris Day	...	Various Roles (archive footage)

Storyline

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.

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Plot Keywords:

malcolm x | police brutality | african american | racism | archive footage | 

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Taglines:

The most important civil rights documentary of our time.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing violent images, thematic material, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook Instagram

Country:

Switzerland France Belgium USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

17 February 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Remember This House

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$686,378, 3 February 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,120,626, 2 June 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARTE France, Independent Lens, RTBF (Télévision belge)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

I Am Not Your Negro was one of 15 films included on the shortlist for the best feature documentary Oscar.

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Quotes

James Baldwin: In this country, for a dangerously long time, there have been two levels of experience. One, to put it cruelly, can be summed up in the images of Gary Cooper and Doris Day, two of the most grotesque appeals to innocence the world has ever seen. And the other, subterranean, indispensable, and denied, can be summed up, let us say, in the tone and in the face of Ray Charles. There has never been any genuine confrontation between these two levels of experience.

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Connections

Features The Gong Show (1976)

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Soundtracks

The Blacker The Berry
Performed by Kendrick Lamar
Written by Agent Sasco, Kendrick Lamar, Zale Epstein, Eskeerdo (as Alexander Izquierdo), Brent Kolatalo, Stephen Kozmeniuk, Keith Lewis, Boi-1da (as Matthew Samuels)
Published by WB Music Corp, OBO Itself , Hard Working Folks Inc ., Top Dawg Music (Lamar)
Administrated by Warner/Chappell Music Belgium N.V. 1damentional Publishing LLC/Sony/ATV Tunes LLC
1daniable Publishing, 24 Diamond Music, c/o Tenyor Music. Kenobi Songs Publishing / Whiskey Valentine Publishing / BMG Platinum Songs
Courtesy of BMG Rights Management (France)
Z Jewgurnaut Music
(p) 2015 Aftermath/Interscope (Top Dawg Entertainment)
Courtesy of Universal Music Vision

User Reviews

Thought Provoking

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."