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Friday, June 17, 2011

MOVIE REVIEW
Rejoice & Shout
Recalling The Glory Hallelujahs Of Classic Gospel


Mavis Staples, back in the day.  She appears in Don McGlynn's documentary "Rejoice & Shout".  Michael Ochs/Getty Images
 
by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        FOLLOW
Friday, June 17, 2011

Don McGlynn directs the rich, detailed documentary "Rejoice & Shout", a near-two-hour experience filled with anecdotes and priceless archival footage of vintage gospel greats performing.  The film is making its way around the country. 

"Rejoice & Shout" visits the history of gospel and its roots in the African-American experience, an origin and foundation for all the music that would follow.  The documentary features interviews with Smokey Robinson and a host of gospel legends. 

You need not be familiar with the music or the artists but Mr. McGlynn's documentary is an easily embraceable, all-encompassing film that welcomes you and gently leads you on a beautiful journey.  I was completely absorbed and taken in by the stories of triumph, pain, frustration as well as learning more about gospel and its intricate history.

Legends like the great Mahalia Jackson, Shirley Caesar and The Blind Boys Of Alabama, and newer sensations like The Winans, Kirk Franklin and many others are all part of Mr. McGlynn's tapestry.  We get a true sense of the relationships between all of those chronicled, their little rivalries, and how the greats recall their place within gospel. 

The documentary delves into faith though not in a way that alienates, rather, as illustrative of how gospel music is the engine of expression for the release of the spiritual aspects of the church experience for some black people, a practice long an integral part of African-American history.  Discussions about the music's role in slavery and in broader American history are edifying.

"Rejoice & Shout" runs a little long but this allows for a pure, complete presentation of a music format that sometimes gets made fun of, dismissed, or not taken seriously in some quarters.

Granted, "Rejoice & Shout" does exactly what its title announces.  It rejoices and it shouts, not for the sake of simply being, but as a fine introduction to audiences unfamiliar with one of America's grandest, most uplifting music flavors.

"Rejoice & Shout" is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association Of America for some mild thematic material and incidental smoking.  The film's running time is one hour and 56 minutes.

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