Palm Pictures presents a film by Stephanie Black. Africa Unite – more a documentary than a concert film – includes Danny Glover in his role as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, most or all of the Marley family and a large number of Africans are featured who participate in what Glover calls a symposium. There is historical footage of Bob Marley, the history of Ethiopia, and clips of old films about Africa. The film runs 98 minutes.
Africa Unite is a mixture of film and video documenting the 2005 "Africa Unite" event held in Ethiopia to celebrate Bob Marley’s sixtieth birthday, history lesson on Ethiopia and the African continent, and a look at the Rastafarian movement.
The film is somewhat of a hodge-podge of content. There is very clean and professional filming, there is some filming that has some sort of spotted screen applied to the print, and there is what looks to be cell-phone camera video, poor in quality with smearing motion. I do not think that this stylization is very effective for the documentary format. The film swings widely in mood from optimistic about the future of the continent to near revolutionary condemnation of the past treatment of the continent and peoples of Africa. Thrown into this mix is a historic look at how Western Civilization was (and for a time was successful at) plundering the resources of the continent at the expense of its people and some history on the Rastafarian movement.
It took me several viewing attempts to get through this. It hops around too much with wide swings in mood and focus. This makes it difficult for an outsider* like me to gain empathy for the subject and hang on for the ride. I hate to be so skeptical – and I really don’t think it was like this – but the film left me thinking that the remaining members of the Marley family were using this event to cement a greater legacy for Bob and to cash in on the festivities. There is really nothing that points to them cashing in, but there is not any content that states otherwise either.
The strongest points made in the film are in the interviews with the young, determined, and intelligent Africans who traveled to participate in the meaningful events. They ask serious questions like “Why do our children have to go to bed on empty stomachs?” and, “Why do they have to go to school on empty stomachs?” and, “Why does the West use us for medical experiments?” These are real and human issues. These are the issues that are important in addressing the future of Africa, not the ongoing concert given by the Marleys or the Rastafarian movement.
* I say I am an outsider because I am not of African descent. As it was with Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971), I don’t get it. Perhaps it is because I am an outsider or perhaps it is that Africa Unite is not designed for a wide audience.