Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance WriterTHE SOUL of a Man is an insightful look into the blues.
Directed by Wim Wenders, Soul of a Man takes a look at the works of three blues legends, Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James and J.B. Lenoir, and features narration by Lawrence Fishbourne. The Soul of a Man is the second in The Blues: A Musical Journey series of films executive produced by Martin Scorsese. The series is currently being shown on the lawns of Red Bones the Blues Café, which presents it in association with the United States Embassy.
The film works beautifully because it allows the music to speak for itself. Fishbourne plays the voice of blues legend Blind Willie Johnson, who leads us on this leg of the musical journey. He begins from the track Dark Was the Night, recorded in 1927, which was included in the music that accompanied The Voyager on its journey into deep space.
THE HAND OF FATE
This beginning allows the film to highlight how the music of these three men is able to transcend time and space. What the three legends have in common is that none of them got wealthy from music, which went on to have an impact on generations of musicians to follow. None of them received much mercy at the hand of fate and it was probably that which made them create such haunting music, whether it was the spiritually driven Blind Willie, the personal lamentations of Skip James or the often political indictments of J.B. Lenoir.
Soul of a Man helps to take you back to the late 1920s and early 1930s, with dramatisations that re-enact the experiences of Blind Willie Johnson and Skip James. The mood of the time is retained because the film, though clearer than the archival footage of the time which is often mixed in, looks like a silent picture, complete with written dialogue and speeded up motions.
The narration is then limited to introductory pieces or segues. As such, as welcome as Fishbourne's voice is it is not very invasive, allowing the music to unravel the story naturally. Most of the documentary then comes down to performances by the three musicians, some of them dramatised, others featuring actual recordings of the artiste. These are then interspersed with performances from a slew of modern-day musicians, which highlight the lasting impact of the music.
The result is that The Soul of a Man also becomes a treasury of music, featuring performances by Beck, Bonnie Rait, Cassandra Wilson, Lou Reed and Cream, among others. What is also impressive from the performances of the contemporary performers is how the blues came to inform other more modern rhythms, thus showing not just the impact of these individual performers but of the genre itself.
SHOWTIMES
The series plays at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday and Saturday and continued on January 20 with The Road to Memphis, which traces B.B. King's musical journey. Warming by the Devil's Fire then follows on Saturday, January 22.
On January 27, one of hip hop's greats, Chuck D, will explore the Chicago Blues in Godfathers and Sons. Red White and Blues, featuring performances by Eric Clapton, Tom Jones and Van Morrison will be shown on January 29. The series was originally scheduled to end on Thursday, February 3 with Piano Blues. However, the first film will be re-played on Saturday, February 5, to compensate for the poor quality of the showing on January 13.
