KING IN THE WILDERNESS
US, 2018, 111 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Peter W. Kunhardt.
This is a highly recommended documentary on Martin Luther King Jr. It won an Emmy award for Best Historical Documentary.
The Director, Peter W Kunhardt has had an extensive career in producing documentary material for American television, especially with political emphases.
The occasion for the documentary is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis Tennessee, June, 1968. (Robert F Kennedy appears in documentary footage – and was soon to be assassinated himself.). A prisoner who had escaped parole, James Earl Ray, was charged with the murder of Dr King and spent several decades in prison. As might be expected, because of the mysterious character of the assassin, there were conspiracy theories and court cases.
The filmmakers have assembled quite a range of associates and friends of Martin Luther King to reflect on their memories of working with him, the trip back into the past, 50 years and further. They include many of his working associates and collaborators, men and women. It also features actor-singer Harry Belafonte, friend of Martin Luther King, who appears close to the family in many of the footage clips.
So, there is a great strength in the memories of the collaborators, going back into the past, is visualized by the extensive historical footage, but also their reflections on the effect of Dr King, Civil Rights, the role of Lyndon B. Johnson, the consequences of Martin Luther King’s leadership. Personal aspects of Martin Luther King are not ignored, his relationship with his father, a stern man, and their sharing of the ministry at the Ebenezer Church in Atlanta. There is relationship with his wife, Coretta, and their children – and observations about his personal life and other relationships. There is also the influence of J Edgar Hoover and surveillance by the FBI. King achieved a great deal in his leadership of the civil rights movements, his espousing, especially, of non-violent campaigns, his great concern about poverty in the US, for black, Hispanics, Native Americans, whites. And he was a Nobel Prize Laureate.
Included is a great deal of footage of Stokely Carmichael and his contradicting King’s non-violent philosophy.
There is extensive historical footage throughout the film, some going back to the 1950s to King’s emergence in leadership. There is family footage, footage with friends. There are many campaigns, the March on Washington, I Have a Dream, Selma, a variety of meetings, presence at the signing of Civil Rights legislation, contact with Lyndon Johnson. And, there are many excerpts from his speeches and a realisation of what a way he had with communication, with words, with speech rhythms, with emotion.
This is a fine record, within two hours, of the life and work of Martin Luther King, acclaim, hostility, and, in the American way, death by assassination.
