Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2020


MLK/FBI

Buy MLK/FBI now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'MLK/FBI' is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Sam Pollard (known for co-directing the 1987 Oscar-nominated 'Eyes on the Prize'), from a screenplay by Benjamin Hedin and Laura Tomaselli. It follows Martin Luther King Jr. as he is investigated and harassed by J. Edgar Hoover's Federal Bureau of Investigation.[https://www.npr.org/2021/01/18/956741992/documentary-exposes-how-the-fbi-tried-to-destroy-mlk-with-wiretaps-blackmail Documentary Exposes How The FBI Tried To Destroy MLK With Wiretaps, Blackmail : NPR]

Synopsis



The film explores the investigation and harassment of Martin Luther King Jr. by J. Edgar Hoover and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, through newly declassified documents. Interviews from Beverly Gage, David J. Garrow, Andrew Young, Donna Murch, James Comey, Clarence Jones, Charles Knox and Marc Perrusquia also appear in the film - the interviews are presented largely as voiceover; some of the interviewees briefly appear on camera at the end of the film.

Much of the documentary utilizes archival footage of MLK between 1955 and 1968, the years of his work as a civil rights activist. It is largely chronological, showing a young MLK from 1963[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mlkfbi-movie-review-2021 Roger Ebert] until 1968 when he was assassinated. No new information is revealed about his assassination. The last sequence makes the statement that not all FBI documents have been declassified, and that the whole record will be declassified and made available to the public in 2027.

The documentary covers the attempts by Hoover and the FBI to discredit King by collecting recordings and images of his private sexual life with women other than his wife. This is to denigrate his status within the civil rights movement for black people in the United States, which was gaining momentum. There is a stark contrast between the thoroughly white complexion of the FBI and the many crowds of black people assembled around MLK.

Release



The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. It screened at the 2020 New York Film Festival and was scheduled to be one of the closing night films at the San Diego International Film Festival in October.

IFC Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film and set a release date for January 15, 2021.

Reception



Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "'MLK/FBI' presents a sobering overview of the American intelligence community's efforts to discredit and destroy a leader of the civil rights movement." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Accolades

'MLK/FBI' won the Best Documentary Award at the San Diego International Film Festival in October 2020.

References




Buy MLK/FBI now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 2020



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1108022875.