Marley

Greetings again from the darkness. Kevin Macdonald is one of those rare directors who has had commercial success with both documentary and mainstream films. His Last King of Scotland featured a powerful performance from Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin, and in Touching the Void, he chronicled a perilous mountain climbing trip in the Andes. Here, he takes on the fascinating life of musician and humanitarian, Bob Marley.

This extraordinary film features some wonderful never before seen video and still photography, as well as some very insightful interviews from friends, family, bandmates, and others who were present during that time. We see the poverty stricken area of Jamaica where Marley was born to his mother (a local teenager) and his father, a 60-something white man who evidently worked for the forest department.

It's truly fascinating to watch Marley's development as a musician and human being. With little education, he relied on stunning life instincts and rose to be the most important Jamaican figure in a time of intense discourse. His personality was one that brought people together, and his music complimented his beliefs and encouraged a unified country and world. While he survived an assassination attempt, he was unable to beat cancer. His death at the young age of 36, leaves us asking ... what could have been? Watching his Wailers begin by playing for free in small clubs and building to worldwide tours in huge stadiums shows just how much influence he had with his words, music and actions. He was admired globally and revered in Jamaica. So often biographies and documentaries treat their subject as either a saint or villain. Here, we get the descriptions from Marley's own voice, as well as the voices of his wife Rita, his children (including Ziggy), his girlfriends (including Cindy Breakspeare who was Miss World). We learn he had 11 kids with multiple women. We learn he wasn't the warmest father to his kids. We learn he was courageous and insightful, and always willing to listen to both sides of an argument.

For most, being an influential musician would be enough. For Bob Marley, it was just the key to the door ... his vision was for a peaceful world where we could all "get together and feel alright". You will notice I have yet to mention marijuana. Marley's face has become a symbol for Jamaica's key export, and that's a shame ... more need to know what this man was all about.

A well made look at a reggae legend with lots of footage and performances. What more could you really want? It covers the creation of his music, his influences, his roots, his tragic early death, etc. Just about the only thing it doesn't do that well is talk about his legacy or how much bigger he got after dying. Maybe a few extra minutes about that would have been nice, but apart from that small nit pick, this is totally worth seeing.

Some really hilarious outfits by some of the old dudes in the interview segments too. Like weird peacock army soldiers covered in flair and bling. Total style man!

Marley is a 2012 Documentary film that tells the story of legendary Jamaican reggae artist Bob Marley. The film charts his life from his humble beginnings in a small country village without electricity, through his rise to fame in Jamaica, to his exile in London, subsequent return to his Island of birth and eventual death at the age of just 36.

Before going in to the cinema I wouldn't have classed myself as a Bob Marley fan and although I have a couple of his albums and love his best known songs I knew very little about him. The film gives an honest account of his life and of Marley as a man. The story is told using achieve interviews with Marley himself but mostly through interviews with his friends, family and ex colleagues who are still living. Some of the interviewees are great characters and speak with wisdom. Others are hilarious and most have a fantastic Jamaican Patois which is delightful to listen to. The film also gives some background to Rastafarianism, something else that I knew little about.

The whole film is backed with over sixty Marley and Bob Marley and the Wailers songs which start with the song he first recorded aged sixteen and ends with One Love. This film has one of the greatest soundtracks of any film I've seen. The highlight for me was Marley's triumphant return to Jamaica for the One Love Peace Concert in 1978. After years living in London following an attempt on his life, Marley returned to Jamaica and performed in front of 32,000 people and bought the leaders of Jamaica's warring Political Parties up on stage where he managed to get them to hold hands above their heads in a sign of peace. It was an amazing thing to witness, even in the cinema and its impact was obvious.

The final quarter of the film takes on a deceivingly sadder tone as we reach the final years of Marley's life. After a battle with cancer he died in 1981 in Miami, USA. There were many people crying in the theatre, including my girlfriend after a very sad few moments on screen. The film ends on a positive note though by showing how Marley's music and message is still being used to educate and unite people today.

The film shows Marley to be both a great musician and great man but isn't afraid to look at his less impressive traits. His womanising is mentioned on several occasions, as is his poor parenting. His willingness to do anything to make it is also a constant theme. He was willing to change his style as well as drop his friends in order to become better known or appreciated and the film doesn't shy away from letting this be known. A thread I'd like to have seen explored further was his lack of success with black audiences outside of Jamaica. It was hinted at several times but is an interesting area which could have been looked at further.

Marley is a fantastic biopic documentary which sheds light on one of the world's best loved musicians. It isn't afraid to show both his good and bad sides and does a good job of illustrating his life from start to finish. It is accompanied by a soundtrack that head my head bobbing and feet tapping throughout and made me want to go out and further explore his back catalogue as well as his message of One Love.

www.attheback.blogspot.com

The first official documentary featuring members of the Marley family, who reflect on the life of Bob Marley. A prophet to some and a lyrical icon who left the earth leaving a significant mark in musical history.

"Marley" is a beautifully crafted piece of work based on the late Jamaican star. The film is aimed at his biggest fans as well as those with little knowledge of his life, example being myself.

Born in 1963,Raised in the slum's of Kingston, Jamaica, Bob Marley lived life an only child with his mother fending for food and water. Bob's life shows an affect for disaster with little knowledge of his father and any appearance being nothingshort of a myth.

Just like Bob, friends and numerous characters from the Kingston area are introduced in the film, expressing their upbringing in poverty stricken Jamaica.

We learn of the belief in "Rasta Fari". A god worshipped by certain Jamaicans. Bob Marley describes him as the equivalent to Jesus. "White people have Jesus, we have Rhasta Fari". A belief which entitles them to smoke a ridiculous amount of weed each day.

The concept of the documentary tells a tale of comedy, happiness and depression as ones life is told through those who grew up with, and loved him most.

His struggle for success is told through friends and numerous members of The Wailers. How reggae was founded through a single chord? how Bob Marley eventually left Jamaica for America to expand his ideas in music. A story of ambition and tragedy, relating to the shooting of Bob Marley and certain members of The Wailers. How Bob Marley was begged to revive Jamaica's government torn gang war, bringing a country together through his music.

Vital members of the Marley family are heard for the first time in this cinematic masterpiece. Son of Bob, Ziggy Marley tells of his remembrance, as we see a shocking resemblance to the late singer. Rita Marley, his first and last love tells the story of how she stayed with Bob, despite his sexual antics.

A revealing documentary of the Jamaican superstar, seen through the eyes of members of the music industry as well as a brilliant cast of Kingston locals who simply never left the scene since Bob Marley's growing up.

"Marley" reveals a variety of live performances, showing Bob Marley at his best and a typically beautiful soundtrack, which mingles with every scene. Fans and people today know of the ending that awaited Bob Marley. This documentary is a terrific celebration towards a musical genius, who just like many icons, changed parts of the world, politically and musically.

Overall, "Marley" is terrifically original, telling a story of a man with a history guaranteed to make you laugh and cry. A film for fans of all ages to enjoy.

I'm old enough to have dug Bob Marley when he was actually alive and performing. AND I was fortunate enough to produce some jingles in Tuff Gong Studio for Air Jamaica. So I was around the scene, post-Marley, and I played his music endlessly for a decade or two.

Then I discovered salsa, and Latin Jazz, and the Afro-Cuban sound, and let my Marley go.

Well, now I have my Marley back. This film took me into parts of Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica that I have never seen and never want to see. Even after reading Timothy White's marvelous biography of Marley, "Catch A Fire," I couldn't imagine how horrible Trenchtown was until this movie.

It gave me a deep appreciation for how far this young man traveled in his tragically brief time on this particular planet.

He wasn't nice, he wasn't easy, but he was brilliantly talented and surrounded himself with other talented, fascinating people. Yes, folks are moaning about the movie not having enough music, but ... it has lots of heart and conversation and laughs and empathetic understanding of the Marley story -- and the story of Jamaica, one of the most beautiful and agonizing places I have ever been. I can't recommend this film highly enough. (Gosh, I hope there are no spoilers here. Can you write a spoiler for a documentary of a widely known figure?)