Space Is the Place

Space is the place is a hard to find movie to be sure I searched for years to find it and finally saw it tonight at a local college in a show that included a concert of avant-gard jazz. Those familiar with Sun Ra's oeuvre will not be shocked by its content. The plot centers around Sun Ra arriving on earth with his Arkestra to spread his philosophy of the music of the universe and to take back as many black folks as he can to repopulate his home planet and fill it with "human vibrations". The plot is not as disjointed or hard to swallow as one might think, there are good characterizations, especially by the overseer/devil character. There are some comic moments as well, like whenever the overseer kicks out the news caster every time he gets the two chicks in the room alone and he thinks he is going to finally score. The music is of courser superb as well. I will agree with a previous poster that this period of sun Ra's music was far from his best, but still makes for a great soundtrack. The Sun Ra devotee will love it and it serves as a good introduction to The world of Sun Ra for those unfamiliar with his work as well. watch it with an open mind.