Inna de Yard

Beautifully and rawly shot showcasing the lives of some of the most inspiring Jamaican artists of all time. Tells a story of music and human experience. Must watch documentary for anyone interested in Reggae.

When most people say they like reggae music what they really mean is that they like Bob Marley's commercial stuff and UB40. However this documentary shows that there is so much more to it. Using a similar sort of format to the Buena Vista Social Club movie we meet a group of veteran reggae musicians from the 60s and 70s along with a few younger guys as they prepare for a concert in Paris. The most well known names are probably Ken Boothe and Judy Mowatt (one of Bob Marley's I-Threes) but if you are a real reggae fan there are also appearances by such people as Cedric Myton, Kiddus-I, Lloyd Parks and Winston McAnuff. As with the Buena Vista film the movie uses the loose framework of rehearsals for the concert to tell some of the participants individual stories and this is where it becomes really interesting. Cedric Myton is a real back-to-nature character. With his beautiful falsetto voice and long grey dreadlocks he skips around like a 70 year old Peter Pan and is obviously respected by the others. Kiddus I is a bit of a rough edged guy who admits that fame might have passed him by due to his edgy character and run ins with the law. (This is a common theme, 2 or 3 of the guys have had run ins with "Babylon" mostly ganja related) he also provides one of the films lighter moments when he describes how his father used to beat him. (Trust me, its a lot funnier than it sounds!) Ken Boothe had a real taste of international stardom briefly but it quickly ended and he now finds himself almost living on past glory. The saddest story is Winston Mcanuff who is struggling to cope with the recent loss of his 18 year old son after a fairly stupid drug related incident. But the main thing in this film is the glorious music! I am a huge fan of roots reggae and hearing tracks like Fisherman and Everything I Own again bought memories flooding back. I absolutely loved this movie and am already looking forward to getting a copy on DVD.

A summit meeting of rootsreggae veterans and younger stars yields warm, wise and welcoming results in this loving docu-tribute to the musical "soul of Jamaica". With the recording of an acoustic album as the backdrop, director Peter Webber's repetitive but rock-steady structure introduces a string of capital-C Characters to reflect on their histories in the slow-build towards a show. As Cedric Myton, Ken Boothe, Judy Mowatt and more speak of poverty and protest, loss and liberation, the rich braiding of lived-in experience infuses the concert climax with a sweet, pure and heady potency.

First of all, this really is a documentary purely for reggae lovers. It is not a generic reggae story, it concentrates on a new acoustic album by some old reggae and dancehall legends.

There are some classic performances including some amazing vocals by Ken Boothe and Kiddus I. I liked the way the film is split up into sections on several different artists, so it stayed very interesting all the way through.

My only thought was it missed a bit of a trick not being a more generic history of reggae, ska and dancehall, so it included the songs and history of the likes of Dennis Edwards, Pete Tosh etc who don't have their own documentary like Bob Marley.

It's still a must for any reggae fan though.