3 minute read
It's the kind of blanket praise, and the hype is justified.
Brace yourself for the Summer Of Soul. Music documentary directed by Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (AKA Questlove), celebrating the legendary Harlem Cultural Festival with a wealth of previously unseen footage.
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Held during the same summer as Woodstock and with over 300,000 people in attendance, the fest celebrated African American music and culture while promoting Black pride and unity.
Questlove's superlative documentary of the long-forgotten 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, has been gathering rave reviews from all quarters with everyone from the Sundance Film Festival down getting on board to acclaim it as a masterpiece.
Secondly, there's the deep sense of cultural history that informs it. Summer Of Soul not only rolls out the footage but tells the story of a changing world as well.
Black power and civil rights issues permeate every frame of this tale. Dr Martin Luther King was only a year dead when this celebration of black music and culture took place and there's a crackling energy in the audience and on the stage.
For his debut feature Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson has turned in something truly astonishing here. This is a straight concert movie with a wealth of important historical and political context backing up that incredible, incendiary live performance footage.
Let's just consider the many ways there are to love this ground-breaking documentary. Firstly, there's the small issue of the live music footage it contains.
Wildly exciting, ground-shaking performances, mostly unseen for 50 years, from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sly and The Family Stone and Nina Simone, playing before mostly black audiences in Harlem at a festival that history has seemingly forgotten until now make this an utterly essential watch for anyone interested in the history of soul music and American popular music in general. News footage and talking heads add to the mix and there are some truly special moments on stage, such as the collaboration between a young Mavis Staples and old-school Gospel Queen Mahalia Jackson or Nina Simone's debut performance of To Be Young, Gifted And Black, that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
Visually, this is a feast as well. Shot in gloriously garish colour stock we get to witness the full-on stage impact of acts as varied as BB King and Mongo Santamaria at their electrifying best, and while the bright suits and funky threads date it instantly, the power of the music that's pumping out of the soundtrack make this a truly timeless experience.
Up there with last year's Amazing Grace concert film of Aretha Franklin getting back to her gospel roots – another story that lay unloved for far too long – Summer Of Soul is a revelation for the heart and the mind.
A powerful, primal piece of soul nourishment, you owe it to yourself to see this.
COMING SOON TO CINEMAS 2 September 2021
Watch the new trailer or teaser for Summer of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), A Questlove Jawn. Director Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson presents a powerful documentary created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Here we can see the festival that took place in 1969.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-siC9cugqA
www.flicks.com.au/movie/summer-of-soul/
