"What happened, Miss Simone?" documentary about Nina Simone (2015)

When in late 1980s Chanel nr.5 advertisement resurrected "My Baby Just Cares for Me" and made it unexpected world smash hit, no one was more surprised than Nina Simone herself. Riding high on hit charts along with such unlikely neighbors as Depeche Mode, Eurhytmics, Wham and U2, this cute little cocktail lounge novelty number single-handledly managed to overshadow all the hits and decades behind veteran artist who lived her autumn years in European self-exile. Song itself didn't bring financial gain to singer who sold all the rights of original recording way back in 1958. but it did created such immense buzz that new, hip and young audiences flocked to her sold-out concerts, flattering veteran singer with attention she did not have in decades. This late success was another example that if you stick out long enough, the time might just swing back to your direction and the road from a star to has-been to star again is all very possible. Naturally, this particular song might left wrong impression on kids that Simone was some cutesy jazzy songbird or nightclub entertainer where in fact she was a artist par excellence but this was just one of the many ironies of her life.

New documentary of Nina Simone's life "What happened, Miss Simone?"is a brilliant, though harrowing experience. It is truly one of the best documentaries I have ever seen in my life and unpleasant as it was, it was impossible not to watch with feverish concentration. The frame itself is nothing new - concert performances combined with old interviews by Simone herself, testimonies from her family, longtime friends, fans and supporters. What emerges from all this skillful mosaic and patchwork is the portrait of person who at certain point in history managed to have been in the eye of the storm, right in the middle of most important historical moment in recent history - and how she barely stayed alive. That documentary works as the most exciting historical psychological thriller/drama is tribute to its subject and her cult followers who supported her trough the thick and thin, although woman was not just charismatic musician but darn frightening and menacing personality.

Look back to childhood spent in piano lessons while other kids played with toys, this little black girl and her Bach right in the middle of North Carolina where everybody must have thinking she was a freak. Subsequent rejection from Curtis Institute where Simone applied with dreams of becoming first female black classical pianist in US and her bitter resentment towards what she perceived as white racists everywhere - ironically it was white patrons back home who financed her piano lessons and white audiences who will always support her concerts later in life - turn to nightclub jazz music out of pure financial necessity, where she added a touch of Bach to pop standards and starting with late 1950s became respected, unique black artist who created quite extraordinary, semi-classical music benchmark. With a young family and riding on the top of respected success, Simone was still not happy because deep inside she felt pop music frivolous, even though it helped her to reach and command the stage of Carnegie Hall - commercial aspects of pop business, touring, photo shots and autographs, she never accepted this as her life and dissatisfaction with all of these created inner demons that eventually found an outlet in Civil Rights movement during mid-1960s where Simone became one of the publicly most outspoken black celebrities. Suddenly all her fire, passion and heart found a reason in this fight for human rights and she threw herself into it with such conviction and passion that there was absolutely no place for any compromise - instead of resting on laurels of comfortable life as classy pop musician, she became fierce tigress who sang "Mississippi Goddam", "Old Jim Crow", "Strange Fruit", "Four Women", "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free", "Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)" and most importantly "To Be Young, Gifted and Black". If you think that 1960s Soul music affirmed black power and self confidence, look no further. Aretha might demanded R-E-S-P-E-C-T but Nina Simone got it in spades.

At certain point it all got little bit out of control: decline of the Civil Rights movement, lots of its leaders killed, Simone herself decidedly alienating white audiences (and effectively killing her US career) with such uncompromising anti-white concert rants that some of them are still chilling to watch, decades later: this is not a joke, woman was actually preaching to her black audience to get out, burn the white houses and kill the white people. You watch in disbelief but its all there. Her family life spiralling into abusive pattern of beatings and violence (that might have been provoked, invited and welcomed) Simone left it all behind - husband, daughter, career, politics and music - for a escape into motherland Africa where Liberia proved to be comforting nest for a while, but life necessities forced her to return to sing for her supper eventually, this time in Europe. Interestingly why Europe, because documentary not goes into the subject but its clear that Simone was blacklisted at home. And message songs became replaced with Disco. This is where the story turns sour: with most of the Civil Rights front men either killed or arrested, once fierce lioness is playing low paid gigs in some dingy corners and upon insistence of attentive friends and well-wishers is heavily sedated with medicine that treats her bi-polar disorder and manic depression - at the same time, it sedates her and dulls her artistic creativity. Kill the madness and the genius is nowhere to be found. Even her daughter, visiting from US is shocked to find previously fierce and domineering mother with a facial tics and signs of falling by the seams. 

"My Baby Just Cares for Me" came in the right moment. It created new interest in almost-forgotten Simone who continued to sell out her concerts for the rest of her life and enabled her to live comfortably in South of France. Strong, powerful, fierce, uncompromising, regal, majestic, passionate, frighteningly intense but at the same time clearly self-aware and bullshit-free, Nina Simone is not just ever-inspiring music artist but curiously charismatic personality who still fascinates years after her death. This documentary was so darn good that I might just watch it again now.