Black is King

⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Katrina)

Okay, the ART, imagery, fashion, styling, music and dance of this film is absolutely incredible and beautiful and expressive and evoking. Everyone in the film is amazing and unique. Beyonce is the STAR she is.

I loved the album The Lion King: The Gift that came out as a companion to the movie and how it included so many collaborators and creatives from different countries in Africa. The music they created was amazing. As much as I love the original Lion King, it really is a white, American, Disney-fied story, and The Gift and Black is King work hard to bring the perspective back to Africa. The story of Black is King follows a Simba-figure in his journey of growing up, trying to find himself and find his way home. It also focuses on black women and their relationships and maternal sacrifices. There's a part where Beyonce places her child in a basket and leaves it to float down The Nile, just like the story of Moses. That seemed like a strange reference to me and while it did provoke imagery and emotions, it just didn't connect. There's also a lot of spiritual stuff (for lack of a better word) about how people came from the earth and their ancestors were royalty and celestial beings. It just seemed to idealize the experience of people in Africa even though historically they've also experienced war and violence. Since there are so many different countries, cultures and experiences it is hard to capture a unified experience. There's been criticism that Black is King is "an African-American fantasy of Africa" instead of an homage as intended. I think Beyonce's best work was Lemonade when it was focused on her specific experience as a southern black woman and comparatively, Black is King is extremely broad.

Anyways, overall as a film it works better to appreciate it as a string of music videos and visual experiences because the "story" isn't very strong. It is STUNNING and something that only Beyonce could do.

Read Hunter Harris' article on Vulture, 'Black Is King Works Best When Beyonce Can Be Beyonce' because she definitely captured my thoughts on it better than I ever could. I agree when she said "every time Beyonce isn't onscreen, the project deflates when you start wondering how soon she'll come around again." Beyonce is a master as the force behind this film and this is definitely a moment in the culture and this time.

Obviously it's the film that made me want to write my first review about it too!