Exciting documentary portrait broadcast tonight on Arte, “Denzel Washington: an American model” scans the journey of a very great Hollywood talent, who paved the way for a whole generation of actors and actresses.
“We know why we are all gathered here. We have named the ceremony that opens the inauguration week with a few simple words that designate who we are, and where we are going. Those words are: ‘we are one’. Words spoken by Denzel Washington, during the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama, the first African-American president to be elected to the supreme office.
A strong moment for Denzel, son of a Pentecostal pastor, who was born and grew up in an America of opposites, torn by a thirst for equality and visceral racism. A huge actor, unanimously respected by his peers, he is the first African-American to win two Oscars. First that of the best supporting role for his extraordinary composition in Glory; then Best Actor for his fantastic work in Training Day as crooked cop Alonzo Harris.
Excellent documentary portrait broadcast this evening on Arte at 10:50 p.m., Denzel Washington: an American model intelligently and precisely scans the actor’s choices, during a career already spanning nearly fifty years.
Right from the start, Denzel Washington asserted himself through different career choices. But the realization that he could play a role in defending the African-American cause came to him later, with the character of an anti-apartheid militant in Richard Attenborough’s superb Cry Freedom.
“African Americans are among the few people on Earth who don’t know precisely where they come from, because their history was stolen from them during slavery” he will say shortly after the release of the film. “We come from Africa, but where exactly?” He will eventually find out, many years later.
Contributing to changing perceptions through very powerful roles, from which obviously emerges that of Malcolm X, or for example that of the lawyer in Philadelphia, where he invited America to deconstruct its view of homosexuality, he has always watched not to condone the dominant clichés. Thus becoming an absolute model for a whole generation of African-American actors and actresses.
“There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington!”
It is in this perspective that the documentary shows a very moving and strong sequence. In June 2019, the AFI, the American Film Institute, honored the career of the actor, by awarding him a Life Achievement Award well-deserved.
In this well-rehearsed exercise, various talents and friends who have worked with the person rewarded come to split a little tribute speech on a desk. Michael B. Jordan was one of them. The latter then reveals that his character of Killmonger in Black Panther, scars included, is directly inspired by the overwhelming composition of Denzel in Glory.
Then comes a tribute. That of the late Chadwick Boseman. The actor probably knows even more than the others what he owes his model: it was Washington who paid for his tuition.
“There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington” launches Boseman. “I’m not just speaking for myself, but for the entire cast. This generation stands on your shoulders. The daily battles won, the millions of territories conquered, the sacrifices made in the name of culture on movie sets, the compromises you have refused on your way, trace the road we must follow. Let him who watered be watered himself.” We could not dream of a more beautiful tribute.
You can find this sequence in the video below, from 1”25: