The life of the reggae superstar based on new archival footage and many interviews with those close to him.

Picture gallery

Nesta Robert Marley was born in 1945 in a poor Jamaican village. Not accepted by those around him because of his light skin (his father was a white colonial whom he barely knew), he left at age 12 to find his fortune in Trenchtown, a Kingston ghetto. There he met up with his childhood friend Bunny (Neville O'Riley Livingston) and, with Peter Tosh (Winston Hubert McIntosh), they founded the Wailers under the leadership of Joe Higgs, their singing teacher. Bob then married Rita, who sang for the group. Their first producer made them famous on the island, but they fired him because he didn't pay them. But by 1971-1972, producer Chris Blackwell took them to the international stage and Bob went on tour without his mates...

Director Kevin Macdonald expands on the high-level reputation he has gained since My Enemy's Enemy, One Day in September and Touching the Void: by finding interview subjects that had until then been considered hard to get. Thanks to the Marley family and some 60 interviews, the film delves deeply into the complexity of the man, his wounds, the love he had for his country, his spiritual aura (he was a speaker for the Rastafarian movement), his courage and his militant pacifism. With a wonderful soundtrack, the movie also offers a 2,5 hour fest for the eyes.