Tribeca 2022: Kaepernick and America Review

This will be one of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.

The saga of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick dominated most of the 2010s, sparking a debate about police brutality and social justice across the United States until his cause was unfortunately hijacked, leading to him being blackballed by the NFL. He hasn’t played since the end of the 2016 season but he has nevertheless continued his activism. While it may not bring all that much new to the table, Kaepernick and America is a documentary that chronicles Kaepernick’s journey to the NFL, from his rise to his eventual fall following his taking a knee during the United States national anthem. What came from that was news around the world, however, this film does a great job at capturing the volatile emotion of the time in a compelling way through the usual documentary tropes of archival footage and interviews with those connected to the Kaepernick story. Through this, it digs up some interesting facets of that story by showing the true depths of the anger of the time.

Boasting at a relatively short 80+ minute running time, Kaepernick and America offers a brief snapshot for the most part which may leave some wanting more as it leaves some newer material off the table. Meanwhile, the film is more about the events that resulted from Kapernick’s taking the knee more so than Kaepernick himself as he is left too much on the outskirts.

Though not new, Kaepernick and America is still an upsetting and tense watch that unfortunately remains relevant.

still courtesy of Tribeca

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.