This is it. This is the best film of 2021 so far, and this is the film which should
win Best Picture at this year's Oscars. It would just be right that this film wins.
Judas and the Black Messiah is an outstanding cinematic work, which is way ahead of its time. Since I've seen it a few
days ago, I can't help to think about this masterpiece again and again.
Shaka King's direction and Sean Bobbitt's cinematography are simply perfect, but it's
the amazing cast which makes this film unforgettable. Daniel Kaluuya's performance is terrific. As soon as he's on the screen, his presence is so hypnotic that you can't take your eyes off. After
impersonating Fred Hampton, he's officially one of the best actors working these days. "Sadly", Kaluuya is so great that Lakeith Stanfield often gets overlooked. That's not really fair, as he
also gives an incredible performance of a seriously unlikeable character. The constellation between the two protagonists reminds me a lot of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, you could almost call Judas and the Black Messiah a political version of the Western.
The best thing about Shaka King's film is that it never tries to hide that it's a
revolutionary film. This film fully stands behind Fred Hampton, who is one of the most interesting, exciting and inspiring political figures of the 20th century in my eyes. Being a huge admirer
of Hampton (as well as of Malcolm X) myself, I was extremely pleased by how accurately they portrayed everything which is connected to politics. The writers refrained from making the film overly
personal, instead they chose to show large parts of his (and Malcolm X's) speeches. As I know most of his speeches, I obviously realized that some parts are shortened, but in a very effective and
intelligent way. The writers adapted the mesmerizing „You can't kill the revoltion“ speech in a fantastic way for the medium film, leaving out parts which were just important in the context of
what exactly happened at that particular day. They understood that it has no purpose to recreate the speeches 1:1. They rather concentrated on explaining Hampton's political ideas and ideology,
which is in my eyes extremely important and what misses in many political films.
That's one thing which makes this so different from for example One Night in Miami...: in Regina King's film, the screenplay just scratches the surface of the topics which are
actually being discussed. Her film just made me think that you should rather use the 2 hours time watching this to read Malcolm X's autobiography. The opposite is the case
with Judas and the Black Messiah: the film takes his time to show Hampton's much more Marxist approach to the political problems
of the time. It explained that in Hampton's eyes, the state wasn't only oppressing the Black Community, but all groups of socially lower classes, even Latinos and White People. The solution is to
fight together against the system. All this makes the film THE perfect Fred Hampton Biopic, and furthermore a great communist film.
After a year of police brutality and civil rights movements, it would only be right
to give the Best Picture to Judas and the Black Messiah, a truly progressive and revolutionary film, and to give the Award for Best Director to Shaka
King. But that's not gonna happen. Because the Academy isn't really progressive. They pretend to be, but after all, they are just being politically correct. Most probably, the Award for Best
Picture as well as the Award for Best Director will go to a film directed by a woman, which is of course a good thing, if one of the films directed by women would truly deserve it. I definitely
understand why many people would like to see Nomadland to win, but despite being well-made and beautiful, this is after all a film which doesn't
say much. Same as Minari, it tries to understand how humans work and tries to find beauty in every-day life, but this
isn't the kind of film that is essential at the moment. Emerald Fennell approaches an important topic with her film Promising Young Woman, but shows only at the end that she doesn't understand the problem at all and that she's
complete incapable of seeing the greater picture, of reconizing the faults in the system. Regina King made a nice little film with One Night in Miami..., but as I already said before, she just scratches the surface of the political topics discussed
in that night.
All these films have in common that they might look politically correct and
progressive, but after all, they don't deliver any messages which last. Of course I support that women are more represented at the Academy Awards, but in my eyes, the most important criteria
should always remain what the filmmakers try to say with their films. Giving the award to Nomadland and Chloé Zhao might be quite cute, but after all simply ignorant. Because by doing that,
the Academy would snub the best and most relevant film of the year, which is additionally directed by a Black director: Judas and the Black Messiah. The only choice for Best Picture that would be brave and important.
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