On February 25, 1964, in Miami, Florida, 22-year-old Cassius Clay defeated Sony Liston in seven rounds and became the new heavyweight world champion.
That night at the Hampton Inn on the outskirts of Miami, Cassius Clay and his three black friends who had come to cheer him on held a celebration. The three friends are Malcolm X, the leader of the black affirmative movement, and Martin Luther King Jr., the American soul singer, Sam Cook, who is later regarded as the "King of Spiritual Songs", and the legendary running back of American football. Jim Brown.
The next day, February 26, Cassius Clay announced to the world that he had converted to Islam and would renounce the name that belonged to the slaves, and now his name will be Muhammad Ali.
Sam Cooke wrote A Change Is Gonna Come, a masterpiece about the black affirmative movement. Later, on the evening of December 11, 1964, less than October before the party, in a Los Angeles motel, she was shot and killed by hotel manager Bertha Franklin. The cause of death is still a mystery.
Then, on February 21, 1965, nearly a year before the party, Malcolm X was shot and killed by three gangsters while giving a speech in New York. The three gangsters were all from the organization he once led, and the method of killing him was also the violent revolution he advocated.
Jim Brown won the first NBL championship in team history for the Cleveland Browns that year, and after reaching the peak of his career, he left the NBL in the second year, and announced his retirement in July of the third year to move to Hollywood at the age of 30. .
That is to say, for the four of them, that night was the last climax of their glorious life, or the eve of the new journey of restarting their lives. However, they both chose not to talk about what happened that night.
Oscar-winning actress Regina King chose this event as the theme for her feature film debut, "One Night in Miami."
The content of the night is still fictional, but in the fiction, we have seen the true voice, smile, opinions and opinions of each historical figure left in the history book. I also saw the social style of the United States in the 1960s, especially the historical style of dealing with black issues.
The first half of the film uses a multi-line narrative to show the discrimination and plight of the four people.
Among them, Brown's encounter is the most memorable, and the hero on the court returns to his hometown. He was warmly received in the corridor by the elders of the white family, and praised him for being proud of his hometown. However, when the white elders needed labor to help move the cabinets, Brown felt obliged to do so. The white elders calmly said that blacks were not allowed to enter the house. This attitude is undoubtedly more utterly hopeless than the blatant discrimination against Cassius and Sam.
Much of the rest of the film takes place in Malcolm X's room at the Hampton Inn. Regina King's mise-en-scene is impressive for a rookie director.
Through the spatial position formed by the characters walking, the pitching posture formed by speech and actions, the film explained to the audience the changing camp barriers between the characters at the time of the incident in a clear film language, and everyone's emotions were surging.
After laying the groundwork for the general living conditions of black groups in the society at that time, there was no common hatred or unanimity in the dialogue between the four black people. Rather, it subdivides the voices of individuals in the group based on their respective life experiences.
Malcolm X believes that the rights and interests of blacks can be protected by all means; Sam Cook emphasizes that financial freedom can allow blacks to have real freedom; Jim Brown sees the misfortune of blacks as a race, but there is also discrimination within the black community; Young Cassius Clay believed in his personal ability to conquer the world.
The film advances in the debate of their respective views. During the debate, they are "indignant" at each other, "moved by it" after listening to the other party's point of view, and venting their personal emotions feeling their real predicament.
Malcolm X has expressed pessimism about the group he leads, encouraging the three to convert to Islam while saying he will leave the group. He seemed to feel the end was coming, and thinking of his family made him choked up. This is consistent with the fact that he told his biographer that he did not see the book published. It is also in line with the fact that he broke with his former mentor in the real historical records, and suffered enormous pressure within the organization.
Sam Cook was outraged at Malcolm X for letting him listen to Bob Dylan's "The Answer Blows in the Wind," and he was outraged at why a white man wrote a song about the unfair fate of black people. This is exactly what Sam said to reporters after the release of "A Change Is Gonna Come" in the true historical record was influenced by Bob Dylan's "Answer Blows in the Wind".
The sense of social responsibility that Cassius Clay expressed in his self-confidence is also in line with the image of anti-war and fighting for the interests of black people in the real history after he became Ali.
The film's creators clearly didn't want to seek answers to the historical mystery of that mysterious night. Rather, I want to express my thoughts on today's society in this story.
The four characters in the film are now representatives of American spirit and American culture. The influence of boxing champion Ali has already spread all over the world, so it is not necessary to mention it.
Malcolm X is already an idol in the minds of many young Americans, regardless of blacks or whites. Embroider the X from his name on the baseball cap. In the 1990s, the biographical film about him by the famous black director Spike Lee also pushed this trend to the world.
Sam Cook, 1957-1965, a total of 40 US chart-topping songs, he accounted for 29. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2004 "Rolling Stone" selected "100 greatest artists of all time", he ranked 16th. He is the prototype character of "Brook" in the famous anime One Piece.
Jim Brown was awarded the 3rd NFL Most Valuable Player, 9th Pro Bowl, 8th NFL First Team, and was inducted into the American Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
The philosopher said: "It's not the age of the story that is important, but the age of the story."
In today's world, under the flamboyant appearance of "political correctness" after being "progressed", racial divisions formed by skin color, gender, belief, sexual orientation, etc., are actually undercurrents and perilous.
The characters in the film belong to the discriminated groups in the society at that time, but as individuals, they are also representatives of the American spirit and American values recognized by the society. Their diverse thinking and behavior in the environment at that time, even confusion and failure, at least have enlightening value to our current society.
I think this should be the original intention of the creator to shoot this film at this time point, and it should also be the meaning of watching this film.
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