Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Questlove)

[Philip J. Fry]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/Summer_of_Soul_2021.jpg

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-siC9cugqA

IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11422728/) / wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_Soul) / RT (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/summer_of_soul)

[Peng]

I wouldn't want to cut out the interviews providing pointed historical context and emotional first-hand testimony, which feels more vital than the norm for documentary genre. I wish they'd found a better way to integrate them though, so that it's more of a feeling of weaving in/out, rather than intruding on the amazing footage as is here. Still, that footage is so stirring and rousing to the celebratory extreme that it mostly covers those flaws enough for me; almost levitated at the Nina Simone section. 7.5/10

[Ivan Drago]

From Letterboxd:

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s first foray into filmmaking unearths footage from the Harlem Culture Festival, where Black musicians of all genres gathered to perform in front of giant crowds for six weekends during the summer of 1969. As director, Questlove has festival attendees recall their experiences of living in Harlem at the time, attending the festival and what it meant to them in nostalgic detail, while having musicians watch their own concerts and openly reflect on the lifetime of oppression they faced in the industry and their lives in moments of genuine power. Meanwhile, the use of slow cross dissolves and superimpositions in the editing room show all at once the large size of the festival’s crowds, the energetic body language of the artists involved, and the strong emotions they felt and conveyed on stage. Audiences will be informed about what went into Black fashion and trends of the time period, discover the minds behind classic songs they hadn’t been placed before, learn about the genesis of several classic songs, and understand how the ideals of African-American culture evolved with their music and history. Summer of Soul is a fascinating look at the Black experience during a time not unlike our own, a rallying cry for another event like the Harlem Culture Festival in these times, and one of the year’s best films.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I wouldn't want to cut out the interviews providing pointed historical context and emotional first-hand testimony, which feels more vital than the norm for documentary genre. I wish they'd found a better way to integrate them though, so that it's more of a feeling of weaving in/out, rather than intruding on the amazing footage as is here. Still, that footage is so stirring and rousing to the celebratory extreme that it mostly covers those flaws enough for me; almost levitated at the Nina Simone section. 7.5/10

Fully agree with this. Questlove hit the jackpot with this footage, and as a first time director he may have tried to fit too much into every possible nook and cranny. The editing has ADD. Still, it works.