Carlos: Il viaggio di Santana

Yesterday I had the privilege to watch the premiere of "Carlos", together with some of my closest friends. It was a wonderful experience as the documentary is overall very well made.

In terms of technical aspects, the production is excellent. The sound and editing are very well done and the well-picked archive materials were mixed in naturally, adding very intuitively to the overall story. There were many detailed facts that were highly accurate; something that adds to the integrity of the rest of the material.

The best part of the production is the scope setting and how consistently the director stayed within this scope. This is not a movie about the Santana Band and its history, it's not even as much about Carlos as a musician, although being a musician is a main driver of his identity. The main theme as about a man overcoming his insecurities through life through a belief in himself, fed by various father figures. That's a universal theme and was subtly blended with other themes including immigration, sexual harassment, financial hardship, divorce, addictions, loss of loved ones, challenges in trusted relationships and modern-day pressure of society. I'm convinced every viewer should be able to relate to at least a few of these elements; so you don't need to be a Santana fan to be able to appreciate this movie a lot. Despite some of these heavier themes, the general atmosphere of the movie is actually light and full with humor and subtleties.

Carlos had a battered childhood; something the movie treated delicately (and thankfully didn't over-index on). His story depicted in "Carlos" is about his journey through life, battling his insecurities and his process of making peace with his inner secrets. Some key support figures in this journey have been his father, his guru Sri Chinmoy and his two mentors in the music business (Bill Graham and Clive Davis). Personally, I believe Armando Peraza should have been recognized as the fifth "father-figure" but was sadly missing. In either event, the film concentrated on this scope and there was not much or even nothing about his former band members, other friends, his musical inspirations, his mother or brother, or relationship with his fans. One could criticize that narrow scope, but I believe it was very supportive of a strong film as the consistency of the theme allowed for a well-flowing narrative and it provided sufficient depth at the same time. Another point of criticism could be that we don't hear many external critical points of view, although that is compensated by some honest self-reflections Carlos shares.

For his many music fans, this it should also be a very pleasing watching experience as the film provides a lot of revealing background that offers context to his rich music legacy. Moreover, the film contains some fantastic archive materials, including the first ever recorded music by Carlos, which is a gem for true fans as that material has never been accessible before. There were a few great clips of Carlos playing shirtless at home, almost as a physically metaphor of being stripped from everything else and just presenting him as the man he truly is.

To conclude, this movie is an absolute pleasure to watch as it was made with a very specific intention and a lot of integrity. It was a great walk through a music icon's life and it was very comforting to see that Carlos is doing so well. Bless him.

Carlos is such a cool and peace-loving guy and has been ever since he burst in the scene in 1969 at Woodstock For a movie that was filled with music, I wanted more. I would have been satisfied if they just played his music for 2 hours, or just showed one of his concerts. But they presented a lot of intimate parts of his life and some of what makes him the genius we all know.

We love Santana, matter of fact,the last two concerts we went to were to see him. Great!

Feeling of inner peace. I looked at the people leaving the theatre - everyone was smiling. A smile, a ray of light, a feeling of warmth. Peace Carlos Santana has achieved and I was unaware what it must have cost him - it came as a shock. How does one overcome most tragic circumstances and rise? What a soul and what an example, his talent the wave on which he rides. He's not what he does, he says; and yet the music is what got him through, that unique blend between Latin and the Blues, which he had from the get-go. Blues, the Healer. My only complaint is that the film didn't feature his stellar collaboration with John Lee Hooker.

Growing up in Chicago, IL and being Mexican "Santana" is almost always a guarantee you'll hear him growing up. I've seen him probably close to 10 times and this Documentary gave you a look inside his mindset and his music and achievements and traumas. I never leave reviews here , however a part of this movie really moved me to tears. "and I'm not afraid" guitar solo was moving. If everyone could forgive and just leave the past behind and have more compassion the world, your neighbors, your family the universe would just be better off. This is coming from someone who isn't that spiritual but this movie really made me think about my own life , my soul and how I can be a better human being. All the success in the world and money and he could be so mean and cruel and bitter. Overall the Documentary was great and contained a ton of rare footage!

This covers the life and career of Carlos Santana through archive footage and talking (not really interview) mainly by Carlos as well as his current wife and sisters.

Almost the first half of this film (38 out of 88 minutes) goes by until the first Santana album is released. I found that section incredibly interesting as it gets into the how and why he got to that point. The next section is interesting but it doesn't really get into the how and why of the progression of the band, musicians or his music. Then it gets a bit boring with too much emphasis on his spirituality. Plus he sometimes speaks in Spanish but there are no subtitles for it so I had no idea at all what he was saying there.

This was an excellent documentary until it wasn't.