X
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Codeblack Entertainment
- 1 h 42 m
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Codeblack Entertainment
- 1 h 42 m
Summary A documentary that chronicles the life of young college professor Angela Davis, and how her social activism implicates her in a botched kidnapping attempt placing her on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.
Directed By: Shola Lynch
Written By: Shola Lynch
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Codeblack Entertainment
- 1 h 42 m
- 2013
- Not Rated
- Codeblack Entertainment
- 1 h 42 m
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners
73
3.8
Where to Watch
Summary A documentary that chronicles the life of young college professor Angela Davis, and how her social activism implicates her in a botched kidnapping attempt placing her on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.
Directed By: Shola Lynch
Written By: Shola Lynch
Where to Watch
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
73
86% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
14% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
73
86% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
14% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Thanks to Lynch's expert pacing and modulation of narrative tension, even viewers who already know the outcome of the film's central incident will likely be pulled to the edges of their seats.
In spite of its attention-grabbing opening and provocative title, Free Angela And All Political Prisoners is less a work of agitprop than straightforward history, intriguing but never unsettling.
Shola Lynch’s documentary about Angela Davis, the activist and beacon of counterculture radicalism, is a snappily edited, archivally wallpapered recollection of fearless behavior in the face of an antsy establishment. But it’s equally significant as a pointed act of retelling.
Confidently constructed, and aided by an assured focus, Free Angela & All Political Prisoners is a solid tribute a woman who was one of many vital pieces of the civil rights movement, and an insightful study of a time when the American identity -- both politically and socially -- was being drastically reshaped.
Lynch's film is a work of steady chronological progression. Without straining for big-picture significance, it provides a composed look into the revolutionary spirit.
A description of Davis’s post-trial life would have been welcome. Twice Communist Party candidate for vice president, she now teaches at the University of California at Santa Cruz. That raises one more question. Santa Cruz is less than a hundred miles away from San Rafael. How many lifetimes away does it feel like?
It foists its own retelling of Angela Davis's story over any contemplation of her politics, effectively neutering their power as it could apply to today in the hands of a proper film essayist.
User Score
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 5 User Ratings
3.8
40% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
60% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 5 User Ratings
3.8
40% Positive
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
60% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Realside Productions,
De Films En Aiguille,
Direct Cinéma,
Direct 8,
La Région Île-de-France,
Canal+,
The Ford Foundation,
Black Entertainment Television (BET),
Overbrook Entertainment,
Roc Nation
Release Date Apr 5, 2013
Duration 1 h 42 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Tagline You know her name. Know her story.
Awards
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Tribeca Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
International Documentary Association
• 1 Nomination
