Filmmaker and Music Video director Poull Brien's first documentary Charles Bradley: Soul of America is a truly funky, modern and inspiring story about Daptone Records artist Charles Bradley's ascension to worldwide recognition and success in the face of great adversity, heartbreak and perseverance. The same deeply felt soul that is so prevalent in Bradley's debut album No Time for Dreaming is mined by Brien's documentary; a real feeling of soul that Bradley exudes in his amazing music and his explosive stage performance.
Bradley's story begins as a 62 year old James Brown impersonator discovered by Gabriel Roth and Neil Sugarman of Daptone Records, famous for catapulting Sharon Jones into the limelight and recording Amy Winehouse's most acclaimed album Back to Black. We catch up with Bradley roaming the same Brooklyn and Bed-Stuy neighbourhoods of New York that he grew up in, doting on his feisty old mother, dodging the violence and depression of the building projects, hoping and praying that his record finds an audience and finally breaking into the music business after years of exploitation and bad luck.
Poull shoots with a sharp eye for framing, colour and objectivity, letting Bradley tell his life's story on his own terms and letting powerful, crisply edited music sequences play on. Described by his songwriting partner, producer and recording engineer Tom Brenneck as one of the "greatest story tellers he's ever met", Bradley's many, sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking tales are rendered by Brien as memorable reenactments; a fresh visual approach that at times feels like a music video, but leave indelible emotional impressions, bringing us closer to the man.
I've been a fan of Charles Bradley's music for sometime now and have nothing but respect and admiration for him. One of the final tracks off his album, called "Why is it So Hard?" is a raw and moving song about growing up and having to fight everyday just to survive. I think the reason why Charles Bradley's music and story connects with such a broad base of people is because it touches on the nerve of so many who know what it's like to feel loss and the biting anxiety of what lies ahead in life. It's also the reason why we gather to see films and documentaries: to be collectively inspired and remind ourselves of the perseverance of the human spirit. Charles Bradley: Soul of America is an instant classic and a must see for lovers of inspirational urban documentaries and soul and funk music.
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