Ryan McNeil
Every once in a while, you have to go in blind. At the risk of sounding culturally sheltered, I knew precious little about Youssou Ndour before this afternoon. To be specific, I knew his name, and that he was a world renowned tenor. That’s it – I couldn’t tell you where he was from, couldn’t name you a song, … quite honestly, I could probably run smack into him walking on the street and wouldn’t know who I’d just bumped.
However, all of this unfortunate ignorance made for 102 minutes of beautiful engagement when the lights went down and this documentary began. The story is primarily a biography, but it focuses in on Youssou’s troubles surrounding his 2004 album Egypt. Every note of Egypt is dedicated to Youssou expressing his deepest passion and belief for his Islamic religion.
Where the story cuts deeper, is in the fact that while the record is received well internationally, many in Youssou’s home country of Senegal have denounced the work. They don’t believe that a man who can make cd’s about the holy pilgrim city of Touba, and release it during the repentive season of Ramadan is in touch with the true fundamentals of Islam. Undeterred and with unwavering spiritualism, Youssou continues his work, spreading the word of faith and peace.
The movie is beautifully directed by Chai Vasarhelyi, with stunning photography and a soundtrack that is equally toe-tapping and uplifting. This film features some wonderful storytelling, and conveys the true passion of everyone involved. I’ve always thought the true mark of a biographical doc is how it affects those unfamiliar with the subject. By this measure, I’d say the tears welling in my eyes during the movie’s final act makes it a great success. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the Apple Music Store.
The movie screens twice more at TIFF, and has no wider release details yet. I highly recommend it.