The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry (2008)
The Upsetter tells the fascinating story of Lee Scratch Perry a visionary musician and artist from poor rural Jamaica who journeyed to the big city of Kingston in the late 1950’s with dreams of making it in the burgeoning record industry. He burst upon the scene with a brand new sound, inventing a genre of music that would come to be called Reggae, discovering a young Bob Marley and gaining international recognition as a record producer and solo artist. Soon he was being called upon by artists as diverse as The Clash and Paul McCartney to provide his unique sound.
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That was an excellent one.
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
As a mild fan of Reggae and Hip Hop, and having spent a portion of my life in the Caribbean, I was really enthusiastic about this film. The first half was quite interesting, as it gave us a glimpse into his relationship with Marley and other artists. We also got a glimpse into how he got creative with electronic music and opened the door for many new music genres to come. The movie should have ended there, but it didn't.After his fallout with Bob Marley and the "potheads" hanging out at his studio, he burnt his own recording studio down, had some sort of religious epiphany, abandoned all substances, denounced and decried his Reggae years and all past collaborators, and became some sort of religious fringe character living in Switzerland. The film ponders on him shovelling bits of his life into a backyard fire, and about his wanting most of all to access women's genitals and make lots and lots babies. By about two thirds of the film, people started walking out. I had to stay because I was part of the volunteers during the festival.It's always sad to see someone who has had a strong positive impact on a culture, become a religious zealot and denounce his past life.