Joan Baez I Am a Noise

Released Oct 6, 2023

1h 49m

Documentary

Music

Biography

List

94%

51 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

Neither a conventional biopic nor a traditional concert film, JOAN BAEZ I AM A NOISE is a raw and intimate portrait of the legendary folk singer and activist that shifts back and forth through time as it follows Joan on her final tour and delves into her extraordinary archive, including newly discovered home movies, diaries, artwork, therapy tapes, and audio recordings. Baez is remarkably revealing about her life on and off stage -- from her lifelong emotional struggles to her civil rights work with MLK and a heartbreaking romance with a young Bob Dylan. A searingly honest look at a living legend, this film is a compelling and deeply personal exploration of an iconic artist who has never told the full truth of her life, as she experienced it, until now.

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Critics Consensus

Absorbing purely as a chronicle of her remarkable career, Joan Baez I Am a Noise is also moving as a depiction of one woman's personal journey from pain to peace and forgiveness.

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Stephanie M

Joan Baezs life and personality we pictured well in this documentary. I would have liked to learn more about the song writing process and how they reflected what was happening in her life at the time they were being written.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/06/23

Full Review

Rod K

Left out some years, but revealed a lot more of her life than I was aware of. A very intospective documentary and well presented

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/26/23

Full Review

Joan M

Powerful, transparent, emotional movie. I learned so much that I didn’t know about Joan. Highly recommend!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/22/23

Full Review

Anne

Much more depth and psychological issues revealed than I expected. As a fan of Joan Baez for about 60 years I thought the movie was an excellent modality in which to learn intimate parts of her life. Many people can relate to her especially now.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/21/23

Full Review

JD

I would have liked to hear more music.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

Full Review

Barbara

Loved the music and the narrative. Many others have experienced similar life circumstances. What a beautiful singer in every way.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

Full Review

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Miri Navasky

Director

Karen O'Connor

Director

Maeve O'Boyle

Director

Joan Baez

Self

Mimi Fariña

Self

Bob Dylan

Self

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List

Whether or not you’ve ever been partial to Baez’s image as the sainted Madonna of the 1960s folk and protest movements, the movie is worth a look as a raw and intimate portrait of debilitating vulnerability.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 16, 2024

Full Review

Steve Davis

Austin Chronicle

But it’s the last half-hour’s revelation of the repressed emotions and memories uncovered in Baez’s midlife therapy sessions, accompanied by the voice and written correspondence of her late father, Albert, that will stick with you most...

Rated: 3/5

Jan 5, 2024

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

The folk singer and counterculture veteran Joan Baez is the subject of this intimate and painful documentary, which brings us to the brink of a terribly traumatic revelation that it can’t quite bear to spell out.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 27, 2023

Full Review

Yago García

Cinemanía (Spain)

Fascinating in its content, disappointing in its execution. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Apr 25, 2024

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

I Am a Noise sheds relatively little light on Baez’s artistic and social development, and what light it sheds on her inner life seems distorted. It is even less illuminating in regard to the period in which the singer came to prominence, the early 1960s.

Mar 29, 2024

Full Review

Johnny Loftus

Decider

Ultimately this is documentary filmmaking as personal journey, a life story told with full visual immersion for the viewer.

Mar 15, 2024

Full Review

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Synopsis

Neither a conventional biopic nor a traditional concert film, JOAN BAEZ I AM A NOISE is a raw and intimate portrait of the legendary folk singer and activist that shifts back and forth through time as it follows Joan on her final tour and delves into her extraordinary archive, including newly discovered home movies, diaries, artwork, therapy tapes, and audio recordings. Baez is remarkably revealing about her life on and off stage -- from her lifelong emotional struggles to her civil rights work with MLK and a heartbreaking romance with a young Bob Dylan. A searingly honest look at a living legend, this film is a compelling and deeply personal exploration of an iconic artist who has never told the full truth of her life, as she experienced it, until now.

Director: Miri Navasky, Karen O'Connor, Maeve O'Boyle
Producer: Ben Braun, Josh Braun, Terry Press, Greg Sarris
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Mead Street Films
Genre: Documentary, Music, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 6, 2023, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $647.6K
Runtime: 1h 49m

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