Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart – DVD Review

The Film:

The banjo has long been an instrument closely tied to that Southern twang sound. In fact, outside of the Confederate Flag, maybe the banjo is one of the iconic stereotyped symbols when talking about the Southern parts of America. Bela Fleck, a winner of 11 Grammys, realized his choice instrument of the banjo, had lost its musical heritage here in the States, and in Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart, he brings the banjo back to Africa.

Who knew the banjo originated in Africa?

That brings up some unsaid subtext, do to the nature of what we took from Africa during the slave period of our history, and in a way, seeing Bela play with various musicians, some World Class, from parts of Uganda, Mali, and Gambia, somehow feels like a part of that horrible time closes. I’m not saying all is now right with that dark past of American History, but its an interesting element in this film, and one that will be in all of our minds during this. Another interesting side bar to the film is seeing Bela in these so-called war-torn areas, like Uganda, and here there’s not a gun in sight, just people and the music.

Bela states early in the film that all he wants to do is “to make great music”, and even if your not a fan of the banjo or world music, there’s a creative process going on, sometimes improvisational that really gets back to the source of what music is: life. Music is life, no matter what style of genre you listen too, it carries emotions more so than any other art form, and it’s universal. I think that’s the key to the film, and the nature of why Bela Fleck set out on this journey. While getting the banjo back to its roots, even playing the banjo as we traditionally have never heard a banjo played, is great, but sowing the true universal nature of music is a key theme in the film, and why this Sascha Paladino directed film works.

Despite all of these good intentions, the film slows towards the end, and feels a little to long. There isn’t that one big event that changes everything so to speak, making the journey feel a bit stale by the home stretch. An appreciation for the banjo might help, but seeing scenes of Bela playing with Oumou Sangare really are magical, and help even people who aren’t typically interested in this music, to stop and just enjoy the sounds. Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart showcases the hurdles that music can overcome, despite histories and language barriers, something that no peace treaties or sorry’s can do, and that’s the power of music.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: As typical with documentaries, they’re limited to the nature of the filmed source materials, and for the most part, Throw Down Your Heart looks great. Sadly, the audio never feels like a fully alive 5.1 mix. I was hoping to really be engulfed in the disc’s audio track, but due to filming with boom mics, we get a good sounding stereo track. It’s the nature of the beast so to speak. Even though the cover art says there’s a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, my receiver said I was listening to a Stereo track. Despite all of this, everything looks and sounds good for a documentary.

Commentary: I found this track to be highly rewarding, even at times, being more interesting than the documentary itself. Bela is joined by his younger brother, who was the film’s director, and they chat on a ton of subjects. We learn of the nature of the film’s origins, various back stories about the African musicians we see in the film, as well as tangent stories that are so informative, it made me appreciate the film more. It’s really worth a listen.

Bonus Scenes: We get an hour of deleted scenes and bonus, or extended music sessions here, so fans of the film will love to see this. It won’t changed your views on the film, as it’s more of what we seen in the film. Worth a look for Bela, banjo, and world music fans.

Conclusion: Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart is an interesting music documentary, as it really isn’t about Bela, but of the banjo and it’s heritage. Docurama’s DVD is a nice package of presentation and extras.

The Film: Rating:

The DVD: Rating: