While the draw for many would be Billie Holiday's interpretation of this famous song, it is the background stories that make this film so engaging.<br /><br />This film peels away the popular veneer from the song Billie Holiday once claimed she wrote, revealing many intriguing layers. Not only do we delve into the racism that bore this song, but also the interactions between racism, the early labor movement, McCarthyism, and popular culture. Everywhere this documentary's journey takes us, there are the fearful reactionaries meeting the creative and hopeful artists and activists... All of it brilliantly, patiently intertwined and paced by the filmmaker. So patiently executed in fact, I was led into a mid-film, historically surprising plot twist without a clue it was coming.<br /><br />Yet, with all this depth and craft, the documentary remains very easy to watch.