Summer Of Soul: A Festival Of All Things Beautiful And Black
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson makes his feature film debut with Summer Of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). The film transports viewers to 1969 to bear witness to a powerful and touching music festival in Harlem, which history tried to forget. Part documentary music film, part history record, the film dives into Black culture, the ways in which it’s persevered and continues to make a lasting impact on the world.
This documentary feature gives audiences a never-before-seen look at the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which celebrated African American music and culture, and promoted Black pride and unity.
Summer Of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is predominantly an assemblage of archival footage from the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, which spanned 6 weekends and featured monolithic Black icons like BB King, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, and Nina Simone (amongst others). The footage is very cool to see, and it’s far and away the most excellent part of the film. For some strange reason, it was all recorded, but never shown — until now — despite the festival’s impressive roster of musicians.
Perhaps, it has something to do with Woodstock, which occurred around the same time, or the Harlem Festival’s lack of wild, psychedelic antics. Maybe it has something to do with the mainstream media boxing it out. It’s hard to say, especially since Questlove doesn’t exactly probe into these matters. He eventually circles back to this briefly toward the end of the film, but its answer won’t come as any kind of surprise, given how history has continued to repeat itself.
The film is less concerned with asking the “why,” and more about just celebrating the “what,” which ranges from this massive forgotten festival (which entertained a combined total of around 300,000 people) to the music that filled its speakers and the culture, style, and attitudes that still stand as a pillar of Black excellence. While the filmmaking aspect of it, which is nothing more than talking head interviews shot against bland backgrounds, is a bit lackluster, it’s interesting to hear from the attendees of the festival. Specifically, it’s lovely to hear them marvel about seeing a whole wave of Black people all gathered together — the biggest group they’ve ever seen in their lives — and how much that meant to them.
Like Edgar Wrights The Sparks Brothers, Summer Of Soul is a bit too bloated in its runtime, and while it lacks some of the production value that elevates Wright’s fairly conventional documentary, the joyous exuberance it brings makes up for some of its long-winded conventional shortcomings. Imagine the 2019 Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace with a depth that extends beyond just the event it’s capturing, and you’ll be somewhere in the neighborhood of Summer of Soul.
Some if its structure is a bit scattered, and some of the more major points — like how the festival manifested, or how White Republicans in 1969 were actually advocates for Black rights and were totally comfortable around them (the latter really makes it feel as though we’ve tragically regressed) — are glossed over a bit too quickly. There’s an arrhythmic quality (which you wouldn’t necessarily expect from Questlove, given he’s a drummer) to the way it stutter steps around it’s various topics, always returning to the festival that stands pretty firmly at its center. Still, the push-and-pull of its freewheeling structure makes it feel even longer than it is.
The whole affair would have benefited a bit more from some more artistry with regard to its approach and constructive. For instance, nearly all the interviews are shot individually, and it would have been a bit cooler to have some of the attendees interact together, observing how they reminisce about an event that collectively made a profound impact on their lives. After all, a large part of the film’s point seems to be the events unity and togetherness.
Despite Summer of Soul’s flaws, it manages to be a pretty thrilling time that celebrates the influence of Black culture, which continues to persevere even when it’s continually overlooked or outright dismissed. Thankfully, Questlove wasn’t about to let this incredible footage of this monumental event be all for naught. Now we can all bask in the experience — and more importantly, we can remember how so much of the best Art in the entire world radiates from our Black brothers and sisters and how we should stop taking without giving much of anything back. Part of Summer Of Soul’s subtle magic is how it shows how it the festival brought people together from all walks of life to participate in something vibrantly wholesome together. Wouldn’t it be excellent if we could all be there again?!
Recommendation: If you love music documentaries, definitely do not miss out on this joyously beautiful festival of Black culture.
Rating: 3.5 joyous dance moves outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!