Chi-Raq
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Chi-Raq |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2015 |
| length | 127 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Spike Lee |
| script |
Kevin Willmott , Spike Lee |
| music | Terence Blanchard |
| camera | Matthew Libatique |
| cut |
Ryan Denmark , Hye Mee Na |
| occupation | |
| |
Chi-Raq is an American drama film directed by Spike Lee based on the work Lysistrata by Aristophanes and contains comical , satirical and musical elements. The film was shown in selected US cinemas from December 4, 2015. In February 2016 the film was shown as part of the competition at the Berlin International Film Festival , where it celebrated its German cinema premiere on February 16, 2016 in the presence of Lee. The title of the film is a suitcase word that alludes to the fact that since the beginning of the millennium, more murders have been recorded in Chicago than there were American fatalities in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars combined.
action
On the South Side, a southern district of Chicago that is marked by violence , African-Americans from various gangs and street gangs murder each other every day . When little Patti is hit by a ricochet and dies during a shootout in which her lover Chi-Raq is also involved, Lysistrata has had enough and tries to implement her pacifist vision by inciting other women to sexually assault their husbands which she blames for the violence in the gang-torn city, because everything the gang members are interested in except guns is sex . On the one hand there is her muscled gangster friend, on the other hand his older and one-eyed opponent Cyclops. The women want to continue with the action until the bloody street feuds are over and the violence on the streets is over. Provocatively, they wear tight outfits on which the battle cry of their sex strike can be read: "No Peace, No Pussy".
Father Mike Corridan has also recognized the problem and speaks out against systematic racism and the self-inflicted genocide during a sermon at Patti's funeral and also names the reason for the neglect of the African American population by the state and the marginalization of the poor: The financial system is the real reason for the dead. The white priest demands from his congregation that the murders by blacks of blacks must come to an end and thus also accommodates Lysistrata's plans. Soon their action spreads all over the world. On television you can see that women not only in America, but also in Asia and Europe, as suggested by Lysistrata, are dressed provocatively and equipped with chastity belts, take to the streets for the cause and vent their anger with dance and rap singing.
background
On the South Side of Chicago, as can be seen in the film at the beginning, exactly 7,356 people died from gun violence between 2001 and 2015, many more than Americans in the Iraq war. Most of those killed were black. Sebastian Moll from the Berliner Zeitung remarks that the cinema release of Chi-Raq in the USA could hardly have been chosen better, since at the same time as the massacres of Colorado and San Bernardino the topic of arms proliferation is being discussed with a new urgency in the country and Lee drew attention in his film to the same tragedy of the non-military use of weapons in America. At the same time as the theatrical release, The New Republic magazine published a detailed article about dying in the black ghettos and the indifference with which one approaches this subject. This indifference is also evident within the black community itself, as the film actor Nick Cannon remarked when the film was presented at the 2016 Berlinale: In Chicago, gang members speak of 'scoring' when they shoot someone, as in one Video game. The countermovement is called Black Lives Matter .
production
Production history
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The director Spike Lee used the Greek comedy Lysistrata , written by Aristophanes , as a template. Lee transfers this story to the violent Chicago of the modern age. Before that, Lee had already worked on a real violence issue in Malcolm X. Since Chi-Raq was the first movie to be produced by Amazon , Lee enjoyed more creative freedom than is usually the case in Hollywood studios. Lee himself later said that Amazon Studios was the only production company that said yes to his project. The civil rights activist Lee started the New Black Cinema movement in 1986 with the film She's Gotta Have It and has since made films that criticized ethnic inequalities, mostly from Afro-Americans, and was a filmmaker for 2015 His remarkable contribution was awarded the Honorary Oscar, but announced that he intends to boycott the 2016 Academy Awards because he sees African-American actors and films at a disadvantage when awarding the prizes.
occupation
Important film roles were cast by Lee with black actors who are classic actors of the New Black Cinema movement and who have received several film awards such as the Black Reel Award or the Image Award, which are explicitly aimed at actors of African American origin . The role of Lysistrata was given to Teyonah Parris , that of her colleague Miss Helen to Angela Bassett . The actor Nick Cannon took on the role of the muscle-bound gangster Chiraq, Wesley Snipes acts as his opponent Cyclops. The role of Dolmedes was given to Samuel L. Jackson . The film character of Father Mike Corridan, who is modeled after a real parish priest from Chicago's South Side named Michael Pfleger, was cast with John Cusack .
Soundtrack
On December 4, 2015, RCA Records released the soundtrack for the film. This includes 13 songs. Some of the songs tell stories from the point of view of the characters in the film (for example Nick Cannons Pray 4 My City ), others are retrospective memories that deal with the realities of life in Chicago, like Kevon Carter's WGDB . Spike Lee released the latter song on November 10, 2015, and thus before the actual release of the soundtrack, on Instagram. In the video, Carter plays the piano in a church. DJ Slugo , who initially worked as a music supervisor and was born in Chicago, was fired when it became known that he was attempting a soundtrack placement. The soundtrack was not only criticized for this reason. The songs Pray 4 My City , Sit Down for This and I Run were three of the 74 songs that were shortlisted for nominations for Best Movie Song at the 2016 Academy Awards .
Title list of the soundtrack
- Pray 4 My City - Nick Cannon
- Put the Guns Down - R. Kelly feat. Tink
- Contradiction - Mali Music feat. Jhené Aiko
- Born in Chicago - The Bruce Hornsby Band feat. Eryn Allen Kane & Sasha Go Hard
- Sit Down for This - Mali Music
- Desperately - Sam Dew
- Simple - Treasure Davis feat. Kid ink
- I Want to Live - Kymm Lewis
- My City - Nick Cannon
- WGDB - Kevon Carter
- I See the Light - Sophia Byrd
- All Power - Cinque Cullar
- I Run - Jennifer Hudson
Recovery
The film was first shown in selected US cinemas on December 4, 2015, and was released on January 26, 2016 as blu-ray and DVD . It was also included in the Amazon Prime offering on February 5, 2016 . At the German cinema premiere on February 16, 2016 as part of the Berlinale, not only was director Lee present, but also two actors from the film, John Cusack and Nick Cannon . From October 15, 2016, the film was presented at the London Film Festival .
reception
Reviews
The title of the film caused controversy after it became known. Chi-Raq is an acronym from the words Chicago and Irak (in English Iraq ) and refers to the southern part of Chicago in the parlance of some Americans. The suitcase word is an allusion to the fact that since the beginning of the millennium, more murders have been recorded in Chicago than there were American fatalities in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars combined. Members of the Chicago City Council therefore called for the film's title to be changed and threatened to lose the tax credit that the film had received because of its location. Lee did not respond to the request. The Chicago-born rapper Chance was also little convinced that a director who was not born in the city had initiated the film project and tweeted in December 2015: You have never worked with the children of Chicago, you don't live here, you never have here see someone die.
With regard to the intentions of the film, Felix Zwinzscher from Die Welt appreciates that the black community has to heal itself and show solidarity: Chi-Raq does not give embarrassment and does not linger on with hidden clues as to where the problem could be. The film is aiming for 127 minutes. Also Andreas Borcholte of Spiegel Online sees the open style of Chi-Raq of thing useful: Lee's film formulated in a surprising sort of a way out of this downward spiral of self-destruction . For Barbara Junge from Tagesspiegel , Chi-Raq is a film that lives not least from the tension between intellectuality and exalted sexuality . Junge describes the film as one that shows in all ugliness the deadly mixture of economic exclusion, hyper masculinity and gun cult that flourished in real racism in the US ghettos.
For the culture department of the RBB , the film is not a naturalistic fateful drama, but a full version of 'Lysistrata' enriched with humor, satire and a lot of music. With regard to the use of modern elements, especially music, in connection with the work Aristophanes, Borcholte also describes the cinematic adaptation: well- trained, lightly clad men and women wriggle and lasciviously to beats and soul music, which become dialogues, do justice to their classic model , rhymed to create a fascinating hybrid of poetry and rap. He also describes the Lysistrata in Chi-Raq as a super hot foxy lady who seems to have sprung straight from a blaxploitation film of the seventies . Anke Sterneborg from RBB Kulturradio can also explain what makes the film so special: Chi-Raq is an angry and funny accusation against everyday racism, which means that violence is the only self-realization for young black men. A real message movie that is rousing and fiery. David Mouriquand from the Berlin city magazine Exberliner is impressed by the film, but criticizes the length: Chi-Raq is always on the right track: brilliant puns, the style is enchanting and the socio-political statement is convincing. A little criticism: You get the feeling that Lee had so much fun that he forgot when to stop. Since the film lasts 127 minutes, it's clear that it still needs some easy shaping.
Awards
African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) 2015
- Award as Best Independent Film
- Award as Best Actress for Teyonah Parris
- Nomination for best film
- Nomination in the category Best Director (Spike Lee)
- Nomination for Best Screenplay (Spike Lee and Kevin Willmott)
- Award as Best Actress for Teyonah Parris
- Best Supporting Actress nomination for Angela Bassett
- Nomination in the category Best Film Music (Terence Blanchard)
- Nomination in the category Best Ensemble
- Nomination for Best Actress for Teyonah Parris
- Best Supporting Actress nomination for Angela Bassett
- Best Supporting Actress nomination for Jennifer Hudson
- Nomination in the category Best Independent Film
- Award by Spike Lee with the Humanitarian Award - for his work on the film Chi-Raq , but also its contribution for the New Black Cinema
Web links
- Chi-Raq in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Chi-Raq at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Nick Cannon - Pray 4 My City by ChiRaqSoundtrack on Youtube (Video)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Fim: Spike Lee with hip-hop musical at the Berlinale In: Focus Online, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ a b c Sebastian Moll: 'Chi-Raq' by Spike Lee: 'Don't black lives count?' In: Berliner Zeitung, December 9, 2015.
- ↑ a b Felix Zwinzscher: Gangs and Cops - America has a problem of violence In: DIE WELT Online, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ Nick Cannon quoted in Christian Schröder: Money always wins. America has already got used to daily killing: Spike Lee speaks about his violent drama 'Chi-Raq' In: Berliner Zeitung, February 17, 2016.
- ↑ Dietmar Dath: Good news from never In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 17, 2016.
- ↑ a b Chi-Raq In: filmstarts.de. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ↑ Spike Lee on Oscars Diversity, Gun Violence, 'Chi-Raq' In: Variety, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ a b c d Andreas Borcholte: Berlinale Diary: No Peace, No Sex In: Spiegel Online, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ a b Ben Child: Spike Lee to get honorary Oscar 25 years after Do the Right Thing In: theguardian.com, August 28, 2015.
- ↑ Dominic Patten: Spike Lee Boycotting Oscars Over “Another All White Ballot” In: deadline.com, January 18, 2016.
- ↑ a b Barbara Junge: Spike Lee and 'Chi-raq' at the Berlinale. No Peace, no Pussy In: Der Tagesspiegel, February 15, 2016.
- ↑ Samantha Callender: Chi-Raq Signals The Return of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack In: thesource.com, December 7, 2015.
- ↑ Ariana Bacle: Hear the first single from the Chi-Raq soundtrack In: Entertainment Weekly, November 11, 2015.
- ↑ Various Artists. Chi-Raq OST In: pitchfork.com, December 8, 2015.
- ↑ Tambay A. Obenson: These 74 Songs Will Compete for 2015 Oscar Nominations - Including Music from 'Chi-Raq', 'Creed', 'Dope' & Others In: indiewire.com, December 14, 2015.
- ↑ 'Chi-Raq' soundtrack details In: filmmusicreporter.com, November 13, 2015.
- ↑ Amy, Chi-Raq, more coming to Amazon Prime in February In: January 20, 2016.
- ↑ 66th Berlin International Film Festival. The complete festival program ( Memento of the original from December 8th, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: berlinale.de. Accessed February 10, 2017 (PDF; 18.9 MB)
- ↑ The 60th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® announces full 2016 program In: bfi.org.uk, September 2, 2016.
- ↑ Chance the Rapper slams Spike Lee and 'Chi-Raq': 'You don't live here, you've never watched someone die here' In: salon.com, December 4, 2015.
- ↑ Day 5 of the Berlinale. Hollywood is back ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: RBB Online. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- ↑ Anke Sterneborg: 'Chi-Raq'. Rousing and fiery ( memento of the original from May 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: RBB Kulturradio, February 17, 2016.
- ↑ David Mouriquand: The Berlinale Blog: No prose, no problem ... In: exberliner.com, February 16, 2016.
- ↑ 16th Annual Black Reel Award Nominations In: blackreelawards.com. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ↑ 'Creed' Knocks Out the Competition! In: blackreelawards.com. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ Jada Gomez: 'Creed' & Michael B. Jordan Top NAACP Image Awards Nominations In: newsone.com. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ↑ Gregg Kilday: Satellite Awards: 'Spotlight' Collects Four Prizes, Including Best Picture In: The Hollywood Reporter, February 21, 2016.
- ↑ Spike Lee Raises Issues, IPA's Choice for Humanitarian Award In: pressacademy.com, November 30, 2015.
