Youssou N'Dour: Return to Goree
YOUSSOU N'DOUR: RETURN TO GOREE
A musical road movie, Return to Gorée follows Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour's historical journey tracing the trail left by enslaved Africans and the jazz music they created. Youssou N'Dour's challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire of his own songs to perform a concert in Gorée, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to honor its victims.
From Atlanta to New Orleans, from New York to Bordeaux and Luxembourg, the songs are transformed, immersed in jazz and gospel. Transcending cultural divisions and rehearsing with of some of the world's most exceptional musicians, Youssou N'Dour is preparing to return to Africa for the final concert...
With Youssou N'Dour, Moncef Genoud,Idris Muhammad, Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye and Amiri Baraca.
Directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, 2008, Senegal/Swiss/France, 108min, musical documentary in English and French w/ English subtitles
" Conversations full of memorable words and what can only be called 'genuineness' push Youssou N'Dour: Return to Gore into the realm of unforgettable filmmaking." ~ Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle
"Trace[s] influences and celebrate[s] connections with tunes to make you tap and sway." ~ Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
"Trace[s] influences and celebrate[s] connections with tunes to make you tap and sway." ~ Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
"It provides ample moments for reflection -- and maybe, judging by the reactions of the American musicians who go back home in his film, a little bit of healing, too." ~ Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
"A wondrous trip with Africa's greatest singer as he bonds with his musical brethren in the New World." ~ Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
"A wondrous trip with Africa's greatest singer as he bonds with his musical brethren in the New World." ~ Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews