(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014) is a legend. Outside the US, she is best known as a poet and writer, but her talents were expressed in many ways: She was a singer, dancer, film director and political activist. Making the first biographical film about Maya Angelou's life could not have been an easy task, and the result is an in-depth portrait of a woman who created the art of living life – which turned all adversity she encountered into knowledge and poetry.
"My mission here in life is not just to survive, but to grow and prosper, and to do so with a certain passion, a good portion of compassion, some humor and definitely not without style," is one of Angelou's many well-known statements. And even though the film doesn't reach the great stylistic heights, it leaves no doubt that she lived a different life.
And Still In Rise is made from a classic cinematic film structure with archival footage and talking heads interviews. The story is told through a myriad of voices. Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Common, Alfre Woodard, Cicely Tyson, Quincy Jones, Hillary Clinton, John Singleton and Angelou's own son Guy Johnson – all woven into a narrative held together by interviews with Angelou himself, as with his unforgettable charm tells their own version of the story.
The film covers every phase of her life in chronological order, beginning with a childhood characterized by abuse and neglect. She grew up in a racist and poor environment in the southern states of the United States, was raped at a young age – an experience so traumatic that she didn't speak for five years. She thus became "an ear", aware of everything, reading and absorbing words from everyone around her. "And when I finally decided to speak again, I had a lot of heart," she says. What she had to say eventually led to her publishing her first and most famous autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1966, many years later.
Separated from son. She was 16 years old when she gave birth to her son Guy Johnson on the first day of 1944. Her father was a boy from the neighborhood. In the film, she describes her mother's reaction to the news that she was pregnant. The mother asked if she loved the father of the child – she did not – and if he loved her. Since that was not the case either, the mother said there was no reason to destroy three lives by forcing them to live together. It was decided then and there that Maya should raise the child alone, a task that led her into random jobs to make ends meet, including a period as a prostitute.
She was raped at a young age – an incident so traumatic that she did not speak for five years.
Angelou does not make this a secret, but the film skips this period and goes directly to the time as a dancer, when she traveled around the United States and abroad and had to leave the boy at home. The interview with Guy Johnson tells a lot about the emotional strain the separation entailed, but also about what a great mother she was. Johnson recalls how she took him to civil rights demonstrations, and how ashamed he was when she showed up at school wearing very eye-catching African dresses. It was only much later that he realized that the mother was the very definition of strength and dignity.
One story Johnson tells is particularly strong and telling about Angelou's personality: He remembers that Angelou had the opportunity to become Pearl Bailey's stand-in in a play. The role was also a golden opportunity for Angelou to spend more time with her son, as it would not require travel. But Bailey wanted another stand-in, because Maya Angelou was "too ugly." Many years later, when Bailey was awarded a prize for what she had achieved during her career, she was asked who she wanted to receive the prize from. She chose Maya Angelou. Angelou presented her with the award – without saying a word.
Life and work. This and many other stories about her toughness and charm stick well after watching the movie. Many of the interviews with Angelou herself are pure gems. The film also succeeds in capturing her special kindness, and also in showing how life and work were always inseparable for her. After all, her legacy can mean different things to different people. One thing is for sure though: the core of her legacy is to live a well-executed life – and the film is a tribute to just that.
