My Friend Fela (Joel Zito Araújo, 2019): Brazil

Reviewed by Kirsten Anderberg. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

“My Friend Fela” is a Brazilian film about a legendary Nigerian musician and political activist, Fela Kuti (15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997). The film offers footage of Fela performing Afrobeat music and speaking about revolutionary politics, in addition to scenes of his personal life. Fela’s lyrics, reminiscent of Bob Marley’s 1976 album, “Rastaman Vibration,” are highlighted in grainy, 1960’s-70’s pop art graphics throughout the film.  Choppy archival footage of the United States’ civil rights and black power movements are interspersed with Nigerian politics in a somewhat chaotic manner which highlights the Nigerian government’s violent oppression of Fela, but does little to give an overview of Nigerian politics, in general. The movie’s stated goal is to recast Fela’s legacy as a respected revolutionary, rather than a successful pop star overshadowed by scandalous headlines and personal contradictions. Unfortunately, I feel this goal was not attained, as I was left with more questions than answers about Fela after viewing the film.

The main character in the film (besides archival footage of Fela) is Fela’s friend, Carlos Moore, who interviews people from Fela’s past throughout the movie. Unfortunately, these interviews with Fela’s friends reinforce the scandals the movie is said to attempt to thwart. While great respect and admiration is shown for early courage displayed by Fela in the face of violent oppression from his government, while he emerges as a folk hero, the film also documents his descent from grace as well. It seems a lot of this movie is trying to balance Fela’s personal contradictions with his political rhetoric, showing a serious disconnect therein (which is odd, as this seems juxtaposed to the film’s stated goal.)

Disturbing accounts from Fela’s friends of Fela’s 27 wives all having permanent scars on their backs from beatings Fela ordered, and listening to Fela speak as if a preacher about how women are man’s property, basically, rubs against the current #metoo movement in the United States. Too often we see male “revolutionaries” in service of “civil/human rights,” focusing solely on male rights, while abusing women in their personal lives.

Listening to Fela justify his treatment of women, I am reminded of Sojourner Truth’s 1851 speech, “Ain’t I A Woman?” Sojourner says, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?…Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.” Watching this movie made me wish for a fictionalized dialogue between Fela and Sojourner Truth as a short documentary.

I found the film long on time and short on substance. It came off more like a propaganda film than a documentary, as the film avoided serious topics raised. While I feel the film has some merit, as many Americans do not know who Fela is, the film falls flat as it mentions thuggish behaviors unleashed on friends and lovers, from a man supposedly championing “freedom.”