By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.2 cats
Director: Questlove
Country: united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 117
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11422728/reference
Michael says: “Questlove’s documentary about a summer long music festival in Harlem, during 1969 — happening concurrently with Woodstock, but that very few people are aware of today, benefitted by my recent viewing of the film PASSING. and my reading of Colson Whitehead’s latest novel, Harlem Shuffle, both of which take place in the famed neighborhood, but also suffered by its proximity to my viewing of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. While SUMMER OF LOVE illuminated a forgotten… dare I say, buried, important moment in history.. it was, by and large, a straight-forward concert doc and while the performances were fun and unique, as a film, and more importantly, as a doc, it was pretty standard. Case in point, the inclusion as one of the talking heads of Lin Manuel-Miranda, not because he had any connection of note to the subject of the film, but because he is a well-known figure to a large audience. Still, it was fun to watch the performances by The Fifth Dimension, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Sly & the Family Stone and others. 3 cats”
Chris says: “Astonishing, rare footage + thorough, incisive context + sustained ‘can-you-top-this-clip’ momentum = best concert doc in years. 4.5 cats”
Jeff says: “No words. It could have gone on another two hours, I wouldn’t have cared.”
Philip says: “I thought this was simply going to be a music concert. But it was so much more. It was an examination of the state of Black America in 1969 assisted with performances by the most talented people in show business. What a true joy it was to experience this after more than 50 years. 5 cats”
Jana says: “Loved this look at the summer of 1969 and its historical context.”