Chasing a Rainbow: The Life of Josephine Baker

"Documentary on black American singer/dancer Josephine Baker (1906-1974), who emigrated to France where she was a major artist from 1927 until her death."

The story of Josephine Baker takes us on a fascinating tour of 20th-century race relations on both sides of the Atlantic, yet it leads to no conclusion, and black girls in search of a role-model tend to look elsewhere. Part of her appeal is her startlingly unique appearance. Simply nobody has ever looked or acted like her. She fits no black stereotype. Nor does she look like any recognizable strain of Afro-American. I'd always heard she was half-white, but it seems that her paternity is unknown, and her contradictory claims on the subject don't do much to enlighten us. (We are tempted to imagine quite an exotic mix.) Her origins in sharply-segregated St. Louis, where she is said to have witnessed a lynching, do not seem to have left her embittered. Perhaps she had too much to give. There is a special innocence about that smile, and when she performs her cross-eyed gag, we are lifted into a strange pixie-world, all its own.

Loading countdown...
Hawaiian Vacation

Hawaiian Vacation

2011

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

1989

The Ides of March

The Ides of March

2011

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2009

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life

2003

I Love You in Every Language in the World

I Love You in Every Language in the World

2005

Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction

2006

American Wedding

American Wedding

2003

Taken 2

Taken 2

2012

Jackass Number Two

Jackass Number Two

2006

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

2003

Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: Generations

1994

Safe House

Safe House

2012

Star Trek

Star Trek

2009

X-Men: The Mutant Watch

X-Men: The Mutant Watch

2000

I Am Legend

I Am Legend

2007

Scout Toujours

Scout Toujours

1985

Girls Fight Club

2009

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact

1996

Horrible Bosses 2

Horrible Bosses 2

2014