Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart
Starring: Bela FleckDirector: Sascha Paladino
Studio: DOCURAMA
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Running Time: 97 minutes
DVD Release: November 3rd 2009
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User Reviews
absolutely breathtaking - Rating: 5/5
I just had the opportunity to see this documentary at a local independent theater. I thought "Banjos and Africa? Random! But could be fun..." I was so so so underestimating the power of this film! The music is nothing short of tremendous (one piece in particular, in the first quarter of the film, is virtually guaranteed to leave you breathless and astounded), Incredible, passionate voices and remarkable instruments combine to form sounds that will grab your soul and shake it.
Bela is fun to watch as he interacts with African musicians of various calibers. I love how unassuming he is, and how he speaks (as one of the African musicians points out) perfectly through his music, although his mouth sometimes fails him. What a remarkably talented and humble guy!
All in all, 5 stars +++. I went home and bought the MP3 album immediately, and can't wait to buy the DVD. :)
Following Bela Fleck - Rating: 5/5
"Throw Down Your Heart"
Following Bela Fleck
Amos Lassen
"Throw Down Your Heart", a documentary film, follows American banjo virtuoso on his trip to Africa to look for the African roots of the banjo and to record an album there. We go with Bela to Tanzania, Uganda, the Gambia and Mali and we see the beauty and complexity of "the dark continent". We get a look at Africa that is very different than the way it is portrayed in today's media. We so often hear that there is nothing good in Africa and that the people are beggars and are at war all of the time and that is a continent beset by HIV/AIDS. We learn that these statements only reflect a small part of the continent and we see places that are rich in beauty and in music.
Many of us are unaware that the banjo was originally an African instrument and Fleck is passionate about the banjo. He has made the banjo a part of all kinds of music--jazz, pop, classical and world and Fleck has won eleven Grammys and has garnered 27 nominations in more distinct categories than anyone else.
Fleck had heard many stories about the origins of the banjo and it surely gives up ideas of being an American instrument. We learn here that the American banjo is just a descendant of an African instrument and it has been played in West Africa for years. When slave traders came to West Africa, many of the slaves brought the precursor of the banjo to America with them as well as the knowledge of how to make it. Since slaves were not allowed to play drums on plantations, they played the banjo and it was not long before the white man began to copy it. Slowly the banjo evolved to what it is today and then became part of the culture of this country. Flack felt that a trip to Africa was necessary in order to fully understand the instrument better.
There was another motive that Fleck had as well and that was his great love for African music. He found the music to be inspiring and he often heard places where his banjo would fit. So he took a year off to explore. We see and hear several of his collaborations with all kinds of musicians from local villagers to international superstars. As he traveled, he used his banjo to transcend whatever barriers there were--speech, culture, etc and he found a common ground with musicians from all over and was able to create the most meaningful music of his career.
