“Bob Marley: One Love” was an inspiring yet poignant film that factually implements an account of the historic life lived by Bob Marley. Through a rather rich lens of archived footage, real interviews and rather powerful music this film dives deep in Marley’s journey, starting with his humbling beginning in Jamaica to becoming a worldwide musical sensation and an even bigger icon.
“Bob Marley: One Love” can sometimes be described as a cinematic masterpiece. The film captures the aura of Marley’s life, music and message beautifully. “One Love” takes viewers through the heart and soul of a man who impacted the entire world through his rich ideas and poetic voice.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, this film is put together by an award winning director known for his work in both documentaries and feature films. Green put together a movie that gracefully encapsulates the legendary life of Marely.
This film is compiled with many great moments showcasing Marley’s musical legacy through interviews with family members, some colleagues and friends. The audience is introduced to the undeniable commitment to his beliefs and almost unconditional love for music, while at the same time humanizing Marley to show how he struggled and cried just like the world.
The view into the past that this movie achieves is not phenomenal but encompasses a good amount, delving into not only the intimate but pivotal major moments that shaped his life. The chaos in Jamaica weighs heavily on Marley throughout the film; images of burning fields appear frequently as a mirror of his recollections, giving a sense of passion and energy that is passed to people through his music.
The film attempted to provide insight into the relationship Marley shared with his wife Rita, who also happened to be his backup singer. These glimpses came in the form of a flashback that was the most pleasant of all the flashbacks. While it did show small pieces, more could have been incorporated to give a better glimpse into his older times including his relationship.
The most embracing piece provided by the movie is how connected Marley and his fans were through his music, so much so that you want to jam out on your next car trip. Marley’s music had a way of impacting his listeners and inspiring them through hardship.
The film makes it apparent how influential it was especially though times of conflict and war in Jamaica. The movie made sure to include a vast amount of Marley’s catalog to further boost emotion in the film.
“Bob Marley: One Love” attempted to provide viewers with a captivating and emotional journey through the life of a musical legend. Although they failed to touch much on Marley’s home town Trenchtown, they did pay homage in the very beginning of the film.
Not exceptional but well put together, the movie had fairly good acting but seemed a little confusing as Marley was usually accompanied by multiple people when he was documented to be alone a lot of the time.
A fair grade for this biographical film would be a 3.5/5, as it was fairly decent with some room for improvement.
