BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
Thirty-one years ago today, Bob Marley made his transition from mere mortal to the rarefied ranks of immortality. In 36 short years, Bob went from the foothills of the Jamaican countryside and the teeming slums of Trenchtown in Kingston to become arguably the biggest musical, global icon the world has ever known. Bob’s ascent to mega-stardom was a product of his relentless tenacity, talent and vision.
Simply put, Bob Marley was larger than life, a force of nature, and a prophet for our times. Marley, the new documentary by Kevin Macdonald of “The Last King of Scotland” fame captures that magnetism and charisma and renders it quite beautifully with soaring and at times searing cinematography.
The film begins on the Slave Coast in modern day Ghana in the fetid holds that were the staging area for the millions of enslaved Africans that made the brutal sojourn through the middle passage to the so-called new world. The aptly named Door of No Return was the last many of them would ever see of Africa. It is quite fitting that Marley, one of the sons of that ignoble and forced diaspora would one day return to the motherland as a conquering hero.
Due to its marriage of music and stunning visuals as well as a compelling storyline, Marley is without a doubt the definitive documentary on the King of Reggae music. The never before seen footage is manipulated in such a way that makes it quite intimate and vivid. You are transported to the scene, you are there, part of the concert, watching Bob perform and held in trance by his otherworldliness. The movie is so lush that it feels much more like a biopic than a documentary. Bob is alive in this film. Bob, the legend, did not die on this day thirty-one years ago; he simply made the metamorphosis into something bigger, grander and more ethereal. Bob Marley is eternal!
For more: http://bobmarley.com/marley_the_movie
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