Maybe not a good time at the movies, but a timely time

How does the old curse go? “May you live in interesting times”? It is certainly an interesting time. Things fall apart; the center cannot hold. Each side is forever seeing further evidence of the other’s insanity, each side is increasingly convinced of its own righteousness.

I yammer like this because I’m still not sure if I think I Am Not Your Negro — Raoul Peck’s attempt to inject James Baldwin’s 20th-century notes on race and America (as opposed to race in America, because he’s got plenty to say about America that isn’t connected to race) into our 21st-century conversation — works as a movie, a piece of art. But as a cultural artifact, it’s something worth considering at this particular moment...

Put it this way: I was appalled at the physical assaults and vandalism that accompanied the Berkeley protests against cultural agitator Milo Yiannopoulos. (My son is a student there, so it’s sort of local news for me.) And I know that Mr. Yiannopoulos is a troll who says appalling things because he wants to rile people up for the sake of a reaction. I think it’s unfortunate that his opponents took the bait, just like I think it’s unfortunate that the Women’s March stooped to Trump’s level of vulgarity.

And then I see this film, wherein Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X calmly discuss diametrically opposed viewpoints on how to combat institutionalized racism and violence, and Baldwin articulates his anguish over same on an evening talk show, and I think, “This is valuable.” Not because I think I’m in a position to tell anybody to settle down, but because...well, take it away, Arnold.

But enough yammering. Strike a Pose was a very humane look at six men looking back at their brief moment in the spotlight — at once political and personal. The Red Turtle was wonderful to look at, if a little less wonderful to look back on. And Mifune: The Last Samurai miffed its chance at serious cinematic investigation.

The Ring was the last movie in memory to leave me so creeped out that I hesitated before walking into a dark room after seeing it. I’m pretty sure Rings isn’t going to be able to match that, and I’m not at all sure it’s worth finding out. You probably already know if you want to see that one.

Speaking of timely politics, Scott spent some time previewing some more films from the Human Rights Watch Film Festival this week and took note of three entries. He also gave a rave review to the refugee docudrama Fire at Sea. But Alone in Berlin, which looks back on some impressive citizen activism in Nazi Germany, failed to move him.

Today he plans to treat himself to a double feature of The Comedian and The Space Between Us. I’ll post links to the reviews in the comments as they come in.