In 1969 the world renowned Woodstock Music and Art Fair took the world by storm when acts like Janis Joplin, The Who, and Jefferson Airplane took the stage and entertained more than four-hundred-thousand people. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) tells the story of a very different music festival–The Harlem Cultural Festival. This festival took place just one-hundred miles from the aforementioned Woodstock, in Harlem, and was home to more than three-hundred-thousand people for nearly two months. With acts like Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, and the Chambers Brothers, this festival was a hit of its own.
It seems, based on the information provided throughout Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), that the Harlem Cultural Festival footage sat in the back of a veritable closet for years, with very few people having knowledge of the event. I know for sure that I’d never heard of this festival, and the fact that this event hasn’t had legitimate exposure in over fifty years is a sin–but incredible nonetheless. Right off the bat, with this information provided to viewers, I was invested in what director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has to say. He immediately presents his viewers with riveting content, something that documentaries can sometimes struggle to do at the start of the film. Questlove wastes no time, and he immediately pulls viewers into his orbit.
In my personal opinion, music-related documentaries are the most entertaining of the genre. With documentaries that cover other topics it can sometimes be hard to express the emotion necessary; but documentaries like Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), ones that revolve heavily around music, are able to capture an audience’s attention, because music is music, and music is the shorthand of emotion. As the music permeates whichever room you choose to watch the documentary, you feel an effortless connection with the words being spoken, the smooth, silky tones of the artists on stage, and the passion behind every piece of their act. I instantly fell in love with Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) as Stevie Wonder performed in front of hundreds of thousands. This is the greatest introduction to a documentary that I’ve ever seen, and my expectations for the Oscar-nominated film skyrocketed as a result.
However, just as quickly as I had fallen in love with the documentary the narrative shifted to something political and racial. That change does so much to Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), and it knocks the documentary down a few pegs. There are some claims made throughout the film that I’m not entirely sure can be confirmed, and as it strengthens the racial tensions that already exist in the country, I found myself drifting further and further from the narrative present in Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
The cinematography, which is well done throughout Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), is a mix of different individuals from multiple points in time. The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed by Hal Tulchin and the present-day interviews filmed by Shawn Peters–but there is a slew of other bits of footage that must have come from dozens of other sources. The array of individuals brings their content to life and perfectly expresses every sentiment present in the film, and the beautiful footage is integral to the success of Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) feels more like a concert than a documentary. It’s engaging, lively, and just downright fun. I honestly believe that attending Woodstock would have been a great time, but given the information in Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), I think I’d choose to attend The Harlem Cultural Festival.
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.
Starring Dorinda Drake, Barbara Bland-Acosta, Darryl Lewis, Ethel Beatty, Al Sharpton, Allen Zerkin, Margot Edmen, Alan Leeds, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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