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Dir. Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
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By Lance Duroni
The Zaire ’74 Music Festival was conceived as a cross-promotional masterstroke to accompany the Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa. Foreman suffered a cut above his eye during his last days of training, delaying the fight by six weeks, but the festival was already gearing up and had to go on as scheduled. Since there were no foreign tourists to entertain as expected, this epic assemblage of musical talent, headlined by James Brown, became a footnote in the history of the fight itself. Fortunately, the proceedings were saved for posterity in this documentary: a cross-cultural, funky time-warp with a groove so thick it is probably still echoing through the jungles of the Congo.
Director Levy-Hinte attempts early on to set the scene with shots of the stage being built and promoters discussing the ill-timed delay. This is all rather tedious and only distracts from the main attraction -- performers like Celia Cruz, The Spinners, B.B. King and Bill Withers, not to mention the rhetorical genius of both Muhammad Ali and Don King. From the initial press conference to the party on the plane across the Atlantic to the festival itself, the artists flaunt flamboyant styles, engage in impromptu jam sessions and spill their guts about their long-lost homeland. The film shows a softer side of the Black Power Movement, with the African-American performers visibly moved by the homecoming.
The film hardly tells a story, per se, but who needs one when you have B.B King performing “The Thrill is Gone,” his face contorted by the righteous blues spewing from his amp? Who cares if the concert didn’t make any money when you have James Brown performing “The Payback” in a skin-tight, bell-bottomed unitard with “GFOS” (God Father of Soul) emblazoned on the belly in sequins (or maybe seashells). The African drum circles and local dances interspersed throughout convey the feeling that American soul definitely descends from a common ancestor. Ali almost steals the show from the musicians with sheer charisma, launching into inspired diatribes (some of which might still make contemporary white folks uncomfortable).
The deleted scenes in the special features on this DVD offer some wonderful additional performances as well as some more local flavor from the native Zairians. There is also commentary with promoter Stewart Levine and director Jeffrey Levy-Hinte.
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