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WE WATCHED BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE, AND HERE IS OUR TAKE  
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Playing for Change
April 19, 2024
Playing for Change
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_ An undeniable truth in both the movie and real life is the message
of peace, love, and redemption, and that is what Marley and The
Wailers were fighting for. _

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From the beginning of Marley's life on the plantations of Jamaica to
the discovery of a new life in the Rastafari culture and values, the
new biopic of Bob Marley’s life is a must-watch for all of his fans
and reggae enthusiasts all over the world.

The movie shows us a new side of not only Marley's life through
Jamaica and his world tours, but also a look into the lives of those
who surrounded and supported him through his musical career and life.

Did Marley really serve as a symbol of hope to the people of Jamaica?
What were the events that encouraged him to change his songs from
peace hymns to revolutionary calls? Did he manage to accomplish his
proclamations of peace and unity? Keep reading our movie review to
find out!

_NOTE: BEFORE YOU KEEP SCROLLING, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU MAY
FIND SOME SPOILERS FROM THE FILM._

Before we begin, we want to emphasize some important points and
differences between the real-life conflicts between Marley and the
movie.

MARLEY’S CHILDHOOD AND THE INFLUENCE OF HIS FATHER ON HIS MUSIC

Cedella Booker and Norval Marley met on a plantation in Jamaica and
were married only for a brief period of time until they parted ways
after Robert Nesta (Bob) Marley was born. At the age of 10, his father
passed away, leaving Bob and his mother alone in a vulnerable
situation. This is portrayed at the beginning of the movie, and in
reality, he was not so close to his father, as he didn’t stay long
to see his son grow up.

Due to his absence, Bob had trouble being accepted as a kid due to his
father’s race. In an interview with Karl Dallas in 1975, Marley was
questioned about whether his songs _“had a message for White people
or only the Black,"_ and his answer delved into his childhood
experiences, revealing details about his upbringing and how they
shaped his perspective and music.

_"Because my father's white, my mother's black. You know what they
call me—half-caste or whatever. Well, me don't dip on nobody's side;
me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side; me dip
on God's side, the man who created me, who caused me to come from
black and white, who gave me this talent. Prejudice is a chain; it can
hold you. If you're prejudiced, you can't move; you keep prejudice for
years. Never get nowhere with that."_

This part of Marley’s life was perfectly executed in the movie,
since it’s the opening sequence and the thread for the later events
that developed throughout the story. We can also hear the first
introduction of the “Redemption Song” in a slight lullaby
reflecting the feelings of his family at the time.

[Website banner bob marley playlist]

THE NIGHT BOB MARLEY WAS SHOT AND THE REDEMPTION OF HIS SHOOTER

Jamaica’s political violence and escalation to civil war were one of
the many factors that inspired Marley to hold the Smile Jamaica
concert as a symbol of peace and unity in response to the chaotic
violence that took place in the lead-up to the 1976 election in
Jamaica. According to _The Medium,_
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political factions were warring on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica,
with only Bob Marley calling for peace.

On the night of December 3,1976, just two days before the Smile
Jamaica concert, seven armed men raided the residence of Marley in
Kingston, shooting Marley in his chest and arm, as well as his wife
Rita in the head, who was parked in the driveway. The other two people
affected were his manager, Don Taylor, who was shot in the legs and
torso, and his band employee, Louis Griffith, who took a bullet to his
torso. Fortunately there were no casualties from this attempt.

Later in the movie, we can see that Marley encountered his shooter and
forgave him for what he did. This scene was actually an artistic
liberty that was added to reflect the personal growth of Bob’s
character throughout the movie. In real life, he never actually met
his shooter. According to _People Magazine,_
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said in an undated video interview that while he never saw the gunman
himself during the assassination attempt, he was familiar with the
person who attempted to take his life.

MARLEY AND THE WAILERS IN LONDON, AND HIS CONNECTION TO THE
RASTAFARIAN CULTURE

During the time he spent in London with The Wailers, the group was
arrested on March 10,1977, for the possession of "ganja." However, as
shown in the movie, this was largely exaggerated by the media since
reporters did not understand or try to investigate what this practice
really meant for the Rastafarians.

Bob was once quoted: _“When you smoke herb, herb reveal yourself to
you.”_ _“All the wickedness you do, the herb reveal itself to
yourself, your conscience, show up yourself clear, because herb make
you meditate. Is only a natural t’ing and it grow like a tree.”_

It is important to recall that for Rastafarian culture, smoking is a
special experience to help enlighten their mind so they can correctly
reason about the ways of the world in a ritual way. After all, many of
Bob Marley's songs, such as “Redemption Song,” “One Love,”
“Exodus,” and “Africa Unite,” express his strong beliefs for
the culture, as he views Rastafarianism not just as a spiritual belief
system but also as a way of life and a lived reality.
 

BOB’S TREATMENT FOR CANCER AND RESPONSE

Bob Marley regularly enjoyed playing soccer, so injuries from this
were really common. In the movie, we see that he was diagnosed with
melanoma because a wound he had on his toe was not healing. After
hearing the news, Bob refused to get treatment for cancer.

In reality, he had his nail and nail bed removed where the acral
melanoma was found, replacing his skin from his thighs. According to
the _AIM at the Melanoma Foundation__, _he did not undergo routine
follow-up treatments, but at the time, there was not much treatment to
be offered.

While chemotherapy was available at the time, it was not effective
against this type of melanoma. Even after being treated at multiple
clinics specializing in cancer, including the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center in New York City, the treatment didn’t work, but he
did receive radiation therapy in the hopes of shrinking tumors in his
lungs and liver. His death was most likely attributed to the damage
the metastasized cancer did to his vital organs—specifically his
liver and lungs.

SEEKING PEACE THROUGH MUSIC

An undeniable truth in both the movie and real life is the message of
peace, love, and redemption, and that is what Marley and The Wailers
were fighting for. After his return to Jamaica on April 22,1978,
Marley united numerous political groups as a symbol of unity at the
“One Love Peace Concert," which attracted more than 32,000
spectators, with the proceeds of the show going towards "much-needed
sanitary facilities and housing for the sufferers in West Kingston."

IS THE MOVIE WORTH IT? HERE ARE THREE POINTS TO CONSIDER:

WHAT WE LOVED:

In our opinion, THE COLOR PALETTE of the movie portrayed in the
first minutes, where Marley, Rita, and their kids play on the beach in
Kingston, gives you the feeling of a loving family.

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The movie colors adapt from warm to neutral to blue tones when tragedy
strikes. You can feel that the warmest tones, like yellow, brown,
green, and red, are used in Bob’s youth and come back when he is
with his family in the final scene, as well as when he comes back
home.

While in London, you can see more neutral tones that give us a sense
of distance and coldness, in contrast to what we used to see at the
beginning of the movie. This is a tool in color theory to represent a
change in the tone and atmosphere of the movie, as well as the pacing,
and is another type of language that we found interesting.

THE AUDIO PRODUCTION is another one of the distinguished thumbs up
for this movie, and while the actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who depicted
Marley, did not actually sing for the movie, the lip-synching seemed
so natural that it made us wonder where they got such a clean vocal
track for the band rehearsal scenes.

In reality, and according to Screenrant
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ACTUALLY LEARNED HOW TO SING AND PLAY THE GUITAR. While shooting the
performance sequences in the movie, the actor performed all the songs
himself, using his real singing voice on set. The result was a
combination of Ben-Adir's raw vocals and Marley's archived recordings.
One example of his singing skills can be heard in the movie, with
“Turn Your Lights Down Low," an acoustic version of the song to Rita
after she surprises him in London.

Additionally, there were important moments where other artists played
parts in the movie, such as Ziggy Marley in "Jamming," which has a
cover of the song played in the movie, and then his father's version
of the song is played in a scene where Bob plays soccer and during
studio sessions. Listening to Ziggy Marley also brought us a lot of
memories, since we had the chance several years ago to record him
along with the PFC Band in one of our _Live Outside_ performances.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EXCLUSIVE VERSION OF "REDEMPTION SONG" WITH
ZIGGY MARLEY AND THE PFC BAND.
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We were also surprised to learn that, in the beginning of the
"Redemption Song," Angelique Kidjo hums a portion of the song, as we
had the opportunity to record her for one of our famous _Songs Around
The World,_ "Biko.”

And last but not least, we cannot leave behind the emotional aspects
of the movie in some scenes. For example, the movie’s climax takes
place right after a big fight between Bob and Rita in London, followed
by flashbacks of their youth, where they first fell in love. All of
this was Bob’s thinking while performing “No Woman, No Cry” at a
concert.

DID YOU KNOW that the PFC Band played this song for the Playing for
Change Foundation music program in Diamante, Argentina?

WHAT WE MISSED:

THE “TRENCHTOWN ROCK” AND “TUFF GONG”

In the movie, we can see a combination of time jumps; the young
versions of Bob and Rita speak about his father and show us a little
bit about their first encounters with the Rastafarian culture.
However, we don’t get much background about his settlement in Trench
Town, where he got along (but was not an active part) with the local
street gangs known as “rude boys." We would’ve loved to see more
about the struggles in this part of his life, but unfortunately, the
movie shows us just a glimpse of what could’ve happened as it leaves
it to interpretation.

A TUTOR FOR THE YOUTH IN KINGSTON: THE INFLUENCE OF JOE HIGGS

A singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Higgs was well known for opening
his doors to anyone who wished to learn for free. They say that Bob
Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer were his most outstanding
students. According to _Grunge_
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taught them the basics of singing and songwriting, but when Marley and
The Wailers began to experience success, he refused to keep on playing
with them, probably because of his strong beliefs, as he was actually
a protest singer. However, he agreed to play with them in the late
‘70s on a tour in the U.S.

WHAT WE TAKE:

Like any other biopic, one of the big challenges for creating a film
that encapsulates the full life and trajectory of an artist is screen
time. For example, _Bohemian Rhapsody_ tells the story of Freddy
Mercury and the formation of Queen in approximately 2 hours and 12
minutes. _One Love _has a total watch time of 1 hour and 47 seconds,
leaving some aspects behind, like his struggles during his final days
and how he lived with his family members (specifically his sons and
daughters), as well as many additional details that a true Marley fan
or any other person who is new to Bob Marley’s life would’ve found
vital and interesting to engage fully in the story. Another example of
this is the biographical film dedicated to the life of Bob
Dylan,_ I’m Not There_, which lacks a few details and takes a brief
2 hours and 15 minutes of watch time. We can also find a similar
length with movies such as _Rocketman_, inspired by the life of Elton
John, or_ Elvis _with a length of 2 hours and 32 minutes.

While it is challenging to tell the full life story of a person in
detail with only one movie, we would’ve loved to take a deeper look
into Bob’s childhood and his youth while living in Trench Town, as
well as a few more takes while being a father in Jamaica and how he
spent his time learning how to play the guitar and write songs. Maybe
a two-hour-long movie would’ve been really interesting to see,
since, in our opinion, it would have made its way into the hearts of
people who are not very familiar with Bob Marley’s past.

IN CONCLUSION, if you are a fan of Marley or you like biopic films,
this one is a perfect start to his life, and even if it leaves you
with a lot of questions, it encourages the audience to investigate and
read more about his life. If you ask us, we loved the message it
carried, specially one line by Rita Marley:

_“Sometimes….. The messenger has to become the message.”_

By following our mission inspired by Marley’s message of unity,
peace, love, and forgiveness, we have managed to record numerous songs
with the support of our followers, who make our work possible by
lending us a hand in reaching out to faraway places full of
extraordinary people with their own music histories. Our goal, to this
day, is to connect the world through music, crossing barriers around
the world in the hopes of bringing unity among the people. This is
what we take from Bob Marley, and we hope that his speech inspires you
to create your own way and find your own message to spread with the
leading hand of hope and peace.

LISTEN TO THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK HERE:

Have you watched the movie yet? If so, what are your thoughts? LET US
KNOW IN OUR COMMENT SECTION below, and if you liked it, LET US KNOW
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