Mali's Music defines the country's cultural identity. Radical Islamists are threatening the musicians. Together with the stars of Malian Global Pop - Fatoumata Diawara, Bassekou Kouyaté Master Soumy and Ahmed Ag Kaedi - we embark on a musical journey to Mali's agitated heart. Can their music reconcile the country?
Despite the urgency of the situation the musicians face, when they're not doing their work, the movie is quiet, observant, taking in the austere beauty of the land and the people.
First-time feature director Gregor never imposes a narrative arc on his subjects; instead, we meet them, hear their hopes and their fears, and then savor performances of singular beauty, power, and invention.
Music documentaries are thick on the land, and political ones are numerous as well, but "Mali Blues" is different in that it artfully combines hypnotic music with definite societal concerns.