In the current musical climate, where even the most popular acts struggle to be relevant to anyone outside hardcore fans, the global impact of Bob Marley and his art seems improbably if not downright impossible. Almost fifty years ago at its peak, his music and its message told of the hopes and dreams for a united society. That it was popular on a global scale was all the more extraordinary.
Robert Nesta Marley was born poor on February 6, 1945, in Jamaica and through his music brought worldwide attention to that small Island nation. He knew much turmoil throughout his life, not least the political upheaval that was almost ever-present in his homeland. His pacifist ways supply the most important building block in the period of his life that the film is based around.
After a botched assassination attempt on his life and concerns for the safety of his wife and children, they leave the island and locate overseas where he works on and records his albums Exodus and Kenya. Exodus went on to become one of his largest-selling albums of original material. Marley is intrinsically linked to the music form Reggae and remains its most popular proponent to this day.
People in the West easily overlook the importance of this man and the message of peace he never gave up on. The Marley family’s participation in the film had sanded down a number of the rough edges that existed in his life and the film must be seen more as a celebration than a forensic examination. Rich with the original songs of Bob Marley and the Wailers, One Love focuses on a period of Marley’s career where he was one of the most inspirational musicians on the planet.
Rob Hudson
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