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At the end of January of this year, 'Journey To Jah', a much-discussed documentary directed by Noël Dernesch and Moritz Springer, premiered at the Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in the German city of Saarbrücken. Obviously we would have liked to have attended this event, but even a Reggae.be reporter has his limits. Fortunately, reggae and Rastafari always have that bit of "natural mystic" that makes sure that everything turns out fine in the end, so last Saturday we got to see the film after all at the Millennium International Documentary Film Festival in Brussels.
And lo and behold, that "natural mystic" just happens to be what the documentary is about, cos how else can you possibly explain in a rational way that a German and an Italian end up in Jamaica to sing reggae and a Jamaican finds herself on the European scene of electronic dance music?
In case you don't really know what we're on about, we're talking here about the three protagonists of 'Journey To Jah': Gentleman, Alborosie and Terry Lynn. 'Journey To Jah' largely relies on the chemistry between the former two, as it focuses on the recording of the title track of the same name in Alborosie's Shengen Studio. Although both are often compared to one another, this documentary particularly shows the differences between them: the meditative, sometimes even brooding Gentleman versus the rather stoical Alborosie, who would much sooner let it all happen to him (which becomes very clear when they want to record the track and Gentleman initially prefers to go all melancholic whereas Pupa Albo favours a cheerful, uplifting song).
'Journey To Jah' has certainly not turned out like a promotion film for Jamaica, as Dernesch and Springer also depict the less pretty side of the island – the homophobia, the glorification of violence, the grinding poverty – nicely summed up in this quote by Alborosie: "Jamaica is where Jah lives … but the devil as well!"
Most striking figure, both in appearance and in words, is Jack Radics, who is presented as a friend and colleague of Gentleman and who doesn't mince his words. On the other hand, Dr. Carolyn Cooper, head of the Department of Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, supplies the necessary intellectual background.
People who aren't familiar with the reggae genre had better first watch a number of other documentaries, but for experienced reggae fans 'Journey To Jah' is a nicely atmospheric picture with very successful imagery and a rare inside view into the private lives of two reggae superstars in search of themselves.
Together with Jah Shakespear, one of the founders of Reggae.be, he first started as a critic and a reporter before in the end of 2014 becoming editor in chief. Divides his time between his two passions: music and Haile Selassie.
Apr 15, 2014