Billie Holiday revealed ...
James Erskine, happy to present his film poster on screens on September 30, 2020. Christian Rose
By: Joe Farmer Follow
4 min
Billie Holiday's fate has sparked much commentary, writing and controversy since her passing in 1959. Presented as the victim of a segregationist society, her image has been distorted over the decades.
British director James Erskine tries to give it all its depth through a film simply titled "Billie".
It is a fighter that we suddenly discover in this fascinating documentary.
Publicity
It is by getting his hands on unpublished sound archives that James Erskine undertakes to unveil the true personality of "Lady Day".
It all began in the early 1970s when an American journalist, Linda Lipnack Kuehl, began writing a biography richly illustrated with exclusive comments.
She then met and interviewed dozens of personalities who had worked with Billie Holiday.
Charles Mingus, Tony Bennett, Count Basie, John Hammond, Jo Jones, among others, answer his direct and sometimes disturbing questions.
She seeks to reveal the true story of a queen of vocal art battered by a racist and cruel America.
She questions pimps, managers, FBI agents ... 200 hours of testimony will be recorded.
Before having completed her work, Linda Lipnack Kuehl died in 1978. The magnetic tapes she had compiled will remain silent to this day.
James Erskine at Joe Farmer's microphone.
Christian Rose
By discovering this unexpected treasure, director James Erskine decides to extract the best from it.
Her film "Billie" thus suddenly gives life to an era, to characters, intrigues, feelings, injustices which shape the true face of Billie Holiday, a determined, rebellious, excessive and sensitive woman.
At the microphone of Linda Lipnack Kuehl, guitarist Barney Kessel had pointed the finger at the rebellious spirit of her stage partner when she interpreted, at the risk of her life, the hymn of protest, "Strange Fruit": "
The lyrics the song was hard-hitting. She was on the verge of tears when she sang it. You could hear her voice breaking. And her eyes spoke volumes about what she had been through. The fact that black people did not The same chances revolted her. And the only way for her to express this injustice was to sing songs like this! "
If the avalanche of statements in James Erskine's film demands special attention, the flame of an artist, too long caricatured and misunderstood, shines again brilliantly throughout these breathless 90 minutes.
Beyond this poignant epic, the fate of Linda Lipnack Kuehl is just as moving.
His suicide, always questioned by his family, challenges and plunges his existence into the noir novel of jazz.
His character then takes on an unexpected dimension in James Erskine's cinematic story.
Doubt sets in, eras collide, Billie and Linda answer each other, their questions add up, two human adventures confront each other and their social struggle becomes a common issue, like an echo of our restless 21st century.
→ The trailer for the movie "Billie".
James Erskine's movie poster "Billie".
Dark Star Productions
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