Under African Skies

Audience Reviews

View More

05/03/2016 man i heard this paul simon south africa mamboza boyboyo boys etc graceland music so many times and still just love it...every dern time See more 07/15/2014 I'm not a huge fan of "Graceland". I like the album well enough, but I have never thought of it as a masterpiece. I came out of this documentary liking it more than I had going in, which is one of the best things a documentary like this could hope for. What's most interesting is the discussion over Simon's breaking of the boycott on working with South African musicians during the Apartheid years. I think Simon comes off as someone who was right when it comes to the details, but dreadfully wrong about the big picture. He comes off as well-meaning, but totally clueless and self-centered ... never really grasping that people disagreed with him at the time because far bigger issues than his little album were at play. See more 04/04/2014 this is a terrific exposition of the artist trying and succeeding to battle the politicians. the great musicians of africa and paul simon combined to make great music and the dvd tells what kind of bullshit they had to endure. thanks paul and the bands. it makes me want to take another trip to africa. See more 01/16/2014 I just watched this, brilliant insight to this classic album :) See more 01/05/2014 I have to admit. This album means a lot to me. It came out just before I went to live for 6 1/2 years in Lesotho, a country completely surrounded by South Africa. So I have a strong bias. But I think it covered the history and controversy surrounding the album well. It was interesting seeing all of this with 25 years of hindsight. I do wish, though, they had more of the live performances though. It seemed we mostly just got little bits and pieces. But still definitely a movie worth seeing if you're interested in Paul Simon, apartheid South Africa, and/or African or world music! See more 06/05/2013 The music has held up well enough that it's easy to forget how controversial this album was at the time. "Under African Skies" recalls the story of how the album came to be, and catches up with the musicians who performed the music. The key scenes in the film are built around a dialog / friendly debate between Simon and anti-apartheid activist Dali Thambo. A quarter-century later, Thambo was still critical of Simon's decision to travel to South Africa in defiance of the so-called "cultural boycott," while Simon deferentially but thoroughly parries Thambo's critique. See more Read all reviews

Under African Skies

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING