Movie review | Bela Fleck's "Throw Down Your Heart"

In 2005, Bela Fleck took the trip to Africa he’d been dreaming about for years. His purpose: to bring the banjo back to its earliest roots and diminish what he perceived as its role in a specious Southern stereotype (think “Deliverance”).

Fleck visited Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia and Mali with his audio engineer Dave Sinko and Fleck’s half-brother, Sascha Paladino, who directed a documentary of the trip, “Throw Down Your Heart” , which opens Friday at the Tivoli in Kansas City.

If Fleck’s goal was to put the banjo into a wider, worldlier context, he succeeded. But he also accomplished something even more important, namely bringing to light some of the most beautiful and heartfelt music in the world and some of the most accomplished singers and musicians on the African continent.

“Heart” opens in Uganda where Fleck is introduced to Walusimbi Nsimbambi Haruna, his guide, muse and mentor in the village of Jinja. He also meets and improvises with several musicians, including a thumb-pianist who is considered a “wizard” strictly because of her gender. She is the only female thumb-pianist in Jinja.

While in Uganda, Fleck becomes acutely aware of how integral music is in the lives of these villagers. More than just forms of entertainment, music, song and dance help them express their many joys and sorrows and sustain long-standing traditions.

His first stop in Africa establishes the film’s agenda: Fleck and his crew reach their destination, where they meet, collaborate (and sometimes dine) with local musicians and villagers. And then they leave. These visits are deeply rewarding and educational for everyone. When it’s time to leave Jinja, Fleck has trouble holding back the tears.

Throughout the 95 minute film, the viewers learn plenty, too. We see Fleck improvising with African musicians on instruments like the thumb piano, the akong ting, the ngoni and the Kamal ngoni. We also meet several extraordinary performers, like the blind singer/thumb pianist Anania Ngoliga and the mind-blowing acoustic guitarist Djelimady Tounkara.

One of the musical highlights involves Oumou Sangare, a star in Mali, where she drives around in a Lexus and is greeted everywhere like Beyonce. Sangare tells her story: She was raised fatherless. By the time she was 13, she was earning money singing at weddings and other events. Eventually, she became a pop star.

In “Heart,” she goes into the studio with Fleck to record “Djorolen,” a sorrowful ballad about a “worried songbird” who sings for those who have lost their fathers. Sangare is a songbird herself, and backed only by some plaintive chords from Fleck’s banjo, she delivers a stunning and moving rendition of the traditional song.

In that light, the banjo looks far removed from its role in the stereotypes Fleck is trying to dispel. But this rewarding film does more than rescue the banjo from its hillbilly past. It reminds us that, in some of the most remote places in the world, people make beautiful music not as a means to fame and fortune but for a daily source of love and nourishment, like family, food and prayer.

"Throw Down Your Heart"

3.5 stars (out of four)

No MPAA rating

Running time: 1:35

| Timothy Finn, The Kansas City Star

Comments

[andrew]

Another great "banjo roots project" that doesn't seem to get as much attention came from Otis Taylor in 2008. The (awesome) bluesman did a deep exploration of the banjo and its African roots with a lot of great guest musicians.

Read about it more at:

http://www.otistaylor.com

http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/Recapturing-the-Banjo

[watch movies]

A cultural movie with music? I AM WATCHING THIS! :) Thanks for the great story- I love native music of all kinds and find it fascinating to watch movies about it- cause you can see the people who do the music, it's almost like meeting them to jam live :)