Paraphrasing a subject: "Participating in civil rights activism was rough on any family. Now imagine being a genius woman when that wasn't something society was ready to recognize... Nina Simone wasn't at odd with the times. The times were at odds with her."

Heartbreaking and beautiful. It's not going to win any awards for form, but the archival content and research more than make up for its plainness. I would have watched this as a multi-part miniseries that expanded on each part of Nina Simone's career, but as a feature length overview that appropriately focuses the majority of its time on her shift from pop-star to radical, it's still pretty great. Why isn't this in theaters?

(Just kidding, I can think of a few reasons why... America, goddamn)

far too staid for such a revolutionary woman, but Nina shines through via brilliant archival footage.

it's 2015. Jay Leno is off tv, we have flying meth drones, an orange man is speaker of the house. time to retire talking heads in docs.

If you're not familiar with Miss Nina Simone, you need to watch this documentary. Certain documentaries come out and are important. This is one of those documentaries. One of the biggest popular culture figures in the civil rights movement, Miss Simone played a crucial part in motivating young, gifted, and black students across America. She was extremely controversial, especially when her focus shifted towards a more a violent message. But she was determined to do whatever it took. If that meant losing her spotlight, so be it.

An extremely gifted musician and an even more interesting figure in American culture. The documentary does a great job of piecing together tons of old footage of Nina Simone and other public figures at the time. A great job of weaving in some made footage with the found footage. It accomplishes exactly what it wants to and I hope a lot of people get to see it.

disturbingly uncritical about the abuse she suffered and centers her abuser too much

We've reached a point as a society where subtitles are needed to read cursive handwriting

"What Happened, Miss Simone" is an excellent documentary that covers the tortured life of a true musical legend, Nina Simone. This film doesn't hold anything back as it highlights some of the most intimate details of her tumultuous life. From being a figurehead of the civil rights movement, to enduring physical spousal abuse, to mental health issues that went unchecked during a time where the field was severely lacking, to mismanagement of money and a declining lifestyle. This film covers it all in a stark and brutally honest way. Where most documentaries tend to edify the subject matter this film manages to restrain itself from positive or negative judgement for the most part. In the end we see a three dimensional human being that despite enduring many struggles had the constant and burning passion for music that gave her and the world so much joy.

"I want to shake people up so bad."

Opening with a quote from another extremely influential black woman, Maya Angelou:

"Miss Simone, you are idolized, even loved, by millions now. But what happened, Miss Simone?"

This documentary does it's best to explain that. Still, you finish it wanting to know more.

If you're not a Nina Simone fan or don't like jazz, you might find it boring because the majority of the documentary is based on songs. But the songs mean a lot.

So that’s what happened? Tough.

rewatching this after the debacle going on twitter last night my gawd.

nina simone era um espírito livre num período em que nao aceitavam a genialidade de uma mulher

MUY emocionante.

"como ser artista sem refletir a época?"

revolucionária

É indescritível e meio desconcertante adentrar assim no íntimo de alguém tão brilhante como Nina Simone.
O documentário nos intriga desde o título e leva o espectador a uma experiência intimista e envolvente, proporcionada pela escolha de contar a história através, principalmente, relatos da própria cantora.
Naturalmente há outras pessoas contribuindo - ex-marido, filha, companheiros de banda... Mas o relato principal, a voz mais ouvida é a dela. Porque só ela pode contar o que aconteceu... Como foi passar pelo quê ela passou...
Ao final do documentário, o sentimento é ambíguo: nos sentimos mais próximos dela mas sua majestosidade fica ainda maior. É um privilégio ter contato com tudo que ela fez, foi e ainda representa.

Interesting doc about an interesting/ complex person

Truly, a legend

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

The documentarian forgot that abuse was bad, and that abusers are bad.

P good though.

te amo