The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
It is a searing and topical indictment of racial prejudice and hatred in America that makes for uneasy viewing and is not easily forgotten.
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Switzerland, France, Belgium · 2017
Rated R · 1h 33m
Director Raoul Peck
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King
Genre Documentary, History
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final literary project "Remember This House," director Raoul Peck explores the incredible lives of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and Baldwin's own. The result is a striking portrait of what it means to be black in the United States.
The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
It is a searing and topical indictment of racial prejudice and hatred in America that makes for uneasy viewing and is not easily forgotten.
The Guardian by Jordan Hoffman
It is a striking work of storytelling. By assembling the scattered images and historical clips suggested by Baldwin’s writing, I Am Not Your Negro is a cinematic séance, and one of the best movies about the civil rights era ever made.
Masterfully addressing the American racial divide, past and present, director Raoul Peck’s six-years-in-the-making documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, is a galvanizing, ominous film, thrumming with a sense of history repeating itself.
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
What makes I Am Not Your Negro a mesmerizing cinematic experience, smart, thoughtful and disturbing, goes well beyond words.
RogerEbert.com by Matt Zoller Seitz
Baldwin's voice as a writer comes through powerfully anyway. It was wise to have Jackson read Baldwin's words plainly in his own voice, rather than attempt an impersonation.
The Film Stage by Michael Snydel
Peck has made one of this year’s finest documentaries. At once pulsing with anger and yearning for compassion, it’s an examination of past and present America as a cycle where the backdrop has changed and particulars have remained the same.
While the subject matter is difficult, the documentary itself is easy to watch and exciting to grapple with. Its biggest strengths are Jackson’s voice and Baldwin’s commentary, which combine to create a distinctively world-weary tone.
Village Voice by Odie Henderson
Readers of Baldwin’s work already know that it’s as timely and relevant today as it was when he wrote it decades ago. I Am Not Your Negro powerfully highlights this point for today.
Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro is the rare movie that might be called a spiritual documentary.
Screen International by Tim Grierson
Baldwin’s insights originate from 1979, but they still speak volumes, and Peck makes their observations sting.
The Whodunnit Break! A first in motion pictures! Just before the gripping climax of the film, you will be given sixty seconds to guess the killer's identity! The film will pause and on the screen you will see clues to help you decide who the murderer is...We Dare You To Guess!
When his long-lost brother resurfaces, Jacobo, desperate to prove his life added up to something, looks to scrounge up a wife.
The coming-of-age story of two teenagers struck by tragedy and disaster.
A girl falling in love. A family falling apart.
Music, madness, love, loss
A nightclub singer must support her son after he suffers a grave accident.
I am a huge Baldwin fan so loved getting to hear bits of his unfinished project "Remember This House." Raoul Peck does a great job placing Baldwin within the larger context of the Civil Rights Movement. Samuel L. Jackson uses a less recognizable side of his voice, emphasizing Baldwin's style.