“Stirring up an exhaustive portrait of the legend behind the music, Kevin Macdonald’s Marley is sure to become the definitive documentary on the much beloved king of reggae.” — Hollywood Reporter
Marley is sure to become the definitive documentary on the much beloved king of reggae.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2012
Marley 2012
The long-awaited Bob Marley documentary is a masterful work of ‘authorised’ biography. Filled with insider tales to satisfy any true believer, it’s measured enough in its admiration of Marley’s unique power to make it essential viewing for the unconverted too. NZIFF is happy indeed to provide a fittingly giant screen for these New Zealand cinema screenings. — BG
“A ‘redemption song’ for anyone dreaming of a musician profile done right, this robust and admirably unresolved tribute to Bob Marley, the man and his moment, comes courtesy of an unlikely producing source: the reggae legend’s family. Made in cooperation with son Ziggy (a co–executive producer) and supported by a full complement of revealing new interviews with collaborators, adversaries and even a studio janitor, Marley sets up clash as its central theme. Sonically, there’s the genius who bridged light-hearted utopianism with militant ferocity. Socially, we see soccer-obsessed Rastas living in uneasy proximity to London punks. And visually, Jamaica’s verdant hills lead to the icescapes of wintry Germany, where Marley spent his final months as a 36-year-old cancer patient in 1981.
Embodying all of the conflict, not always gracefully, is the icon himself, unavoidably a mystery (little interview footage exists), yet brought to life by The Last King of Scotland’s Kevin Macdonald with a rare degree of complexity… The tunes, flooding every frame, remain perfect.” — Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out NY
“Onstage, Marley is transcendent, enraptured. The mood is mystical, never mellow.” — Melissa Anderson, Village Voice