The main actor of this film is an avid Christian like, if anything, born to a family where his father was a priest.
Part 1. "I have lived like an animal."
Our hero knows Christ, too. But cinema, as usual outside politics and religion (the irony here: the most dangerous two things in this world, from which the protagonist could not refrain... the third thing is women), no matter what you say. So let's just look at the personality of the main character.
If you judge purely by the film, the main character grew up in freedom-loving ("what I want, I do, then I say") Western society, rather lustful guys. But then, of course, there was color harassment, racial discrimination and all that.
They say that religion changes people. God does not change any of them except for the people. In this world, in any case, we have a choice: to be this or that.
Malcolm X, or el-Haj Malik al-Shabazz, is an African-American Islamic spiritual leader and black rights activist.
I doubt the man was exactly what he is portrayed in this movie. Here he dresses in all colorful, and sometimes behaves literally like a parrot (in a good way). Those same parrots that in Zen and YouTube are gaining hundreds of thousands of views, doing nothing special. No other person would have attracted attention in America. There, the more colorful and parrotty you are, the better for the media and others. the conclusion: if you want to attract attention, be like peacocks and other colorful birds... voiced.
The scene with the revolver and the game of Russian roulette is incomprehensible, because even when I look from the side, I can see the edges of the casing ... there one glance at the gun is enough to know whether it will shoot when you pull the trigger or not. Delusional scene, full of nonsense. What this case aka bullet, that is, in the drum, it is not. . .
Part 2. 'Why did you give me that? You needed this. Because without that, you wouldn’t listen to me.
As it often happens, parrots are washed away from us by the vicissitudes of fate. Life is such that even a proud parrot turns into a sparrow, smoothing out all the projections of pride, well, almost everything. I love when life breaks, me or those around me, biopic personalities, anyone. After the tipping point, there's rebuilding, then the 90s, then zero, and so on. . .
If life in freedom did not break you, then life in prison will definitely cope with it ... well, or in any closed, sewn space.
In short, a person could become a member of any religion... just one of them was more agile.
The next part. Not a Christian preacher, but with Christian method and African-American charisma.
Of course, this is only possible in North America. Elsewhere, in another country, Malcolm X simply would not have taken place at once for many reasons: there would not have been that audience from the category of slaves against the background of the masters (if you touch on the topic of racism), there would not have been that level of democracy (just no one would have let them preach this way), there would not have been money for the Muslim costume in which the preachers of this film walk.
I will not say that the words of the hero do not make sense. They are simple, uncomplicated and aimed at a certain audience ... he is like a catcher who knows exactly what potential parishioners passing by are pecking at.
Part of something. The end of our story can be read on Vicki if you don't already know it. It’s hard with all stories: certain things can’t be changed unless you’re Tarantino, of course. So the film is not clear. It is not clear what he is calling for or what. In any case, a lot is invented, a lot is slicked. But as an epic about his time, about the life of African-Americans in America, perhaps, and watchable. But an amateur.
_
If you dig very deep, the film is in simple words about how one person used one of the branches of Islam to fight racism and subconscious (not obvious to others and himself) raising his own popularity (you can say the pride of fame)... and vice versa: one of the branches of Islam used X for their purposes to catch in their religious networks more followers. They used each other, but... none of that matters now.
The production is good, by the end it looks generally healthy, soulful. The actors of famous and remarkable masses, for example, the very fat partner of the main character "The Wire" or "Gus Fring" from "Breaking Bad" flash.
It is with the latter that we deal with in this film.
By itself, biographical cinema is a very difficult creative process for the entire film crew, since it is necessary to accommodate a whole person’s life in a very short period of time, while revealing his motivation and ideology, and this should be done in such a way that the viewer after watching a certain collective image is formed, as close as possible to the real prototype of the hero and leaving the least number of questions behind.
Everything I have described is not there. But there are a lot of templates, confused scenes, poor-quality directing and poorly spelled ideology of the protagonist (which in life was very specific).
In short: the whole film seems to be cut into 3 parts, the transitions between which are striking, and each of the parts is performed at a different level - from incompetence to a very sensible spectacle; besides, it lasts 3 hours 20 minutes - and it was oh how difficult to sit them out.
So, the first hour (and exactly) of the film, we are watching the formation of a kind of Negro-povesh-gangster, who enjoys all the benefits of civilization: drugs, prostitutes, illegal weapons, etc. - which could be safely reduced to 20 minutes, without losing absolutely nothing - because nothing conceptually important for the film he does not carry - he is just ugly bored.
Then comes a sharp – very sharp – transition to the “prison years and the subsequent formation of the ideological concept” propagated by our unforgettable Malcolm. This segment lasts about an hour and a half, is very tightly assembled, outlined and developed to quite sane and digestible by the viewer action.
And finally, the third part - lasts about 50 minutes, and just in it the concept that developed for an hour and a half, just comes to a dead end and sour. Our hero begins to mumble, contradict himself (although this can be explained by his trip to Mecca) and in general, his words no longer have the confidence and clarity that he showed in the second part of the film. A complete confusion is created, which ends with a voiceover, which, translated into Russian, is a mess, almost directly opposite to the one preached by our Malcolm.
As a result, I realized that:
(a) The film was written by three screenwriters, and each part of the film represents their vision of the life of the main character, which differs from part to part, which creates a feeling of inferiority of the film.
(b) The collective image was not created, and the last 50 minutes confused me completely - the task of both the director and the screenwriter was not fulfilled - not counting.
c) Before you watch biopics, you should read the biography of the hero of the film in the text - so you at least understand what it is about and who he was.
Exclusively for the acting (And Denzel not only looks like a prototype, and plays it perfectly) and the second part of the film, which is an hour and a half long, I bet.
5 out of 10
Let’s see what Malcolm X’s life path was like. Hedonistic principles, carried out in their extreme manifestations, can, like a tightening whirlpool, draw a person into a funnel of depression, despair and self-destruction. This is because pleasure and pain are not enough to make life purposeful, and a purposeless life is hardly worth experiencing the pain of being.
Malcolm X is a good example of a man who could not find his way until he found the purpose and meaning of life. His father, the Reverend Count Little, was a Baptist priest who devoted himself to organizational work in the World Association to improve the situation of the Negroes. Malcolm was proud of his father's activities, but it cost his family dearly - their house in Omaha (the state Nebraska) was burned down by the Klans. His father was later murdered and the family moved to Lansing, Michigan. In his youth, Malcolm did well in school, was even a class chief for one year, but all the desire to learn from him disappeared when his teacher told him that a Negro should not even hope to become a lawyer. Malcolm’s life began to lose meaning to him because of racism, which destroyed his ambitions. He moved to Boston to live with his older sister and began to seek pleasure from life.
The provincial boy Malcolm Little was fascinated by the life of Boston. His main goals in life were entertainment, gaining authority among peers and amorous adventures. In Boston, he went to dance in his buffoon costume and performed Lindy Hop. He also artificially straightened his hair with a very painful procedure that straightened his curly hair and gave it a shine. He eventually started selling drugs. At the age of 21, he became a cocaine addict and was jailed for burglary.
Malcolm had to think about whether he wanted to overcome drug addiction and survive, or just die and end his suffering. When his brother convinced him to become a supporter of Elia Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, Malcolm found a new way of life that satisfied his basic needs and made his life conscious. He stopped attending parties and turned to the core values of life: honor, leadership, and social justice (idealism). He became a devoted Muslim and quickly moved to a leadership position in the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm X, having gained fame after the adoption of Islam, has radically changed. From a street womanizer to a religious leader; from drug addiction to strict adherence to the laws of Islam; irresponsibility in his life gave way to social concern for people. However, the roots of such changes go back to Malcolm’s childhood. He was always proud of his legacy and concerned about the social justice of African Americans. As soon as the Nation of Islam gave him the opportunity to satisfy his basic needs, Malcolm gained meaning in life.
Malcolm X shows us the difference between sensual happiness and value-oriented happiness. When he sought sensual happiness, his life was meaningless, and he slid further and further into a miserable existence. As he began to pursue value-based happiness, he saved himself and regained purpose and a general sense of well-being.
We don’t know what the American Dream is. We only know the American nightmare.
What is it like to be a black child in the United States in the forties of the twentieth century? It's not sweet, even if you live in the North of the country, and you're in the top five, and you're in a class where you're the only white kid. The teacher insists that you are black. You're not going to be what you want to be, because the legal profession is white. Don’t want too much out of this life, you’re black. In that case, what can become of a black child after the father, after long persecution, is killed by the Ku Klux Klan and the mother is admitted to a psychiatric hospital? About it and Spike Lee's movie.
Cinema complex, biographical, long... Cinema on a sick topic for the United States, shot without moralizing attacks. Without a clear answer to the question of good and evil. And even more so without trying to idealize the image of such a person as Malcolm Little, who became famous throughout America, all the Islamic, and the rest of the world, like Malcolm X.
Spike Lee's movie is shot in different manners. The first part of the story is about the formation of a young, daring, inquisitive mind, which led him to the path to which thousands of black teenagers, young men and women who have not found the use of their energy come. This part is colorful, dynamic, there is a place and funny moments. But the second conditional part is serious, severe, sometimes touching and not fun at all. The prison and the Islam that he found in it, radically reborn Malcolm, making him the hope and support for the vast number of black Americans, one of the main preachers of the cause of Mohammed. Starting from the bottom of the Nation of Islam movement, thanks to his leadership qualities, Malcolm comes to that personal weight within the movement, when his leaders begin to experience total discomfort from the presence of such an ambiguous “brother” in their ranks. That is why the outcome of his short life is not surprising.
Stunning Denzel Washington pleases with talent, pleases this role. His monologues are a pleasure. His prizes and nominations are a reward for his work on the character. A complex character, because he was not just a real person, but a person who occupied a certain place in history.
“We claim our right to be human on this earth, to be individuals, to have rights, to be respected in this society, on this earth today. And we intend to do so by any means necessary.” This phrase is the essence of the struggle, the essence of the life of Malcolm X. He truly believed in the truth. And many of his followers truly believed him.
Our beautiful black prince, who died without hesitation because he loved us.
Thanks to Spike Lee, one question of history has become less. Malcolm X can be treated differently. But it is not necessary to respect him.
Very simple and at the same time brilliantly made film. Lee does not show anything supernatural, but only refers us to basic concepts. Few biographies, to be honest, really succeed. But Malcolm’s life is a story of struggle, of struggle against human ignorance, against racism, against xenophobia, with everything that prevents civilization from claiming its rights while in the 21st century, and these things are still widely circulated among the masses.
The film, by the way, is among the ten films that increase the level of adrenaline in the blood. I mean, the adrenaline goes up in me when I watch the finale. The only thing we have is that the world has been unjust, that people like X have always been, are and will be inconvenient to power. But Spike Lee shows us something more. He says that happiness comes from fighting. I’m not going to talk about Daniel Washington. I can’t imagine a movie without him.