This tantalising documentary approaches the life of trail-blazing jazz singer Billie Holiday from the most oblique of angles. It is filtered through the eyes and preoccupations of part-time journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl. Linda who? Exactly.
An articulate Jewish feminist, Kuehl spent years interviewing Holiday’s lovers, colleagues and family. She wanted to save her from “sentimental” biographers but her approach isn’t without its own issues — one black interviewee suggests that she can’t possibly understand Billie. There’s a fascinating sub-plot concerning Kuehl’s dalliance with Count Basie.
It’s clear Kuehl wanted to be infected by Holiday’s cool but whether her interest was vaguely dodgy or slightly tragic — she died in strange circumstances in 1979 — is left open. The Holiday who emerges from this portrait is creative, bisexual and brave.
When she immortalised the protest song Strange Fruit, the singer became a permanent target for the FBI, and though that persecution impacted hugely on her quality of life, she refused to let the bastards grind her down.
15, 96 minutes. On Amazon and iTunes from November 16
