Movie
Los Estados Unidos vs. Billie Holiday
Directed by: Lee Daniels
Starring: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes y Natasha Lyonne.
Produced by Paramount Pictures and available to stream on Hulu, this film, based on journalist Johann Hari’s book “Chasing the Scream,” depicts one of the most infamous chapters of the so-called “war on drugs.” Addicted to opium, heroin, and other drugs, Holiday was targeted by the former Federal Department of Narcotics, an agency that had been in decline since the repeal of Prohibition in the United States. The singer died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1959, while in police custody. This disturbing feature film pushes us to reflect on the origins and objectives of a sociopolitical conflict that has lasted more than a century with no signs of abating.
