Seberg (3 Stars)

Amazon Friday #26

True Stories #29

Name: Jean Seberg

Lived: 13 November 1938 – 30 August 1979

Film dates: 1968 to 1970

Film made in 2019

Jean Seberg was born in America in 1938. Despite being cast in the main role as Joan of Arc in 1957, she didn't gain much popularity. In 1961 she moved to France, where she became one of the biggest film stars in France. In 1968 she returned to America, which is where the film begins. She was travelling to America to audition for a part in "Paint your wagon", but the most significant thing about the journey was that she met Hakim Jamal on the plane. He was travelling to Los Angeles with Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X's widow. He wanted to upgrade their seats to first class, but the stewardess refused to let them sit in first class, whether they paid or not. Hakim caused a scene, shouting "Is my money too black for you?" Jean, who was travelling first class with her manager, offered to swap seats with Hakim and Betty. This was the beginning of a friendship between Jean Seberg and Hakim Jamal.

The press were gathered at the airport to photograph Hakim on his arrival. Jean posed with them, making a Black Power salute. That was a brave thing to do, but also impulsive and foolish. The FBI was already observing Hakim Jamal, and this appearance at the airport made Jean Seberg a person of interest.

A few words about Hakim: despite being one of the main figures in the Black Panthers, he wasn't in full agreement with the other leaders. Bobby Seale advocated violence and the overthrowing of the American government, whereas Hakim wanted to help the black people by peaceful means. He founded schools to educate black children.

Jean donated generously to Hakim's schools, beginning with $5000 on her first visit. Bobby Seale was less enthusiastic about her. He didn't trust white people. He said that Hakim should take as much money from her as he could and then get rid of her. Having a white women in the middle of the Black Panthers was bad for the cause.

Jean and Hakim slept together. Just once. It didn't mean much to Jean. We see later in the film that she was promiscuous and slept with many men. The FBI was recording the encounter, and the recording was anonymously sent to Hakim's wife to drive Jean away from the movement. It almost worked, but Jean continued to donate money to the Black Panthers. The FBI stepped up its activities. Everywhere she went in America she was under surveillance. Her phone and her hotel rooms were bugged. The things she said in private were leaked to gossip columns, so she was in no doubt that someone was spying on her. On one occasion the FBI broke into her hotel room and killed her dog. Jean became paranoid, suspecting everyone around her of being a spy.

The final straw in Jean Seberg's collapse was when she became pregnant in 1970. The father was, in her own words, "a boy I met in Mexico", but the FBI sent an anonymous letter to a gossip column claiming that Hakim Jamal was the father. She attempted suicide. She survived, but as a result of the overdose her baby was born prematurely and died two days later.

Jean returned to France after the death of her child, which is where the film ends. The what-happened-next text lets us know that she was still under observation by the American government. The CIA still tailed her in France. She was a nervous wreck. After years of suicide attempts, she finally died in 1979. The cause of death wasn't conclusive and was declared a probable suicide. She died as the result of a drug overdose, but there were reports of unidentified men around her as she lay dying. If they'd been CIA agents, as her husband claimed, their lack of assistance would have made them accessories to murder under French law.

The story of Jean Seberg, which was new to me before watching the film, fascinates me, but the film itself isn't perfect. Too much of the story is dramatised. What I mean is, what we see happening to Jean is historically correct, but we also see a lot of activity in the FBI, with agents arguing among one another about the right course of action. The FBI's surveillance of Jean Seberg became public knowledge when the FBI files were leaked to the press after her death, but the internal quarrels of individual FBI agents can't possibly be known. What's the point of showing them? I can only see one motive for adding these fictional elements to the film. The FBI was acting badly. That's obvious. The director and screenwriter wanted to show that not everyone in the FBI is bad. Okay, I get it. I agree. Even an organisation as evil as the FBI had good, conscientious agents, but there's no need to invent good FBI agents just to make it a better story.

You've probably already noticed that this post combines my Amazon Friday and True Stories features. When I started my True Stories marathon, I only intended to include films that I own on disc. I only became aware of the film about Jean Seberg a few days ago, and I felt compelled to watch it. A problem is that it means I'll have more than 40 films to write about. I've decided to make a few changes. After my 30th true film (the next one) I'll slow down. Instead of making every film I watch a true story, I'll reduce it to two or three films a week. There are so many other films that I'm anxious to watch at the moment. That means I shan't finish my 40 true films this month. Apart from that, I'm increasing it to 50 films. I probably shan't be finished until April. I hope my readers are patient. I hope my readers are even interested in my true stories. Some of them are my most popular posts at the moment, but I haven't received any feedback on my true films in general. Do you like them? Please let me know.

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