Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (2017) Reviews

• A Whole Lotta Grace for your Money

  Clothes-Off2018-05-05

  This is half concert film, half intimate portrait. What I took a way from it most was the stark contrast between the stunning visuals and slick production of her performances and the bare bones existence of Spanish Town in Jamaica where she was born. (Yet here's a certain tranquility to the people we meet there.) Fortunately the subject of the film is someone to whom a lot of people could listen and watch all day. For those who aren't into her, 115 minutes may seem too long, but even they would have to marvel at someone in her late sixties moving with such agility and athleticism. (She sweats buckets.) I do think she could have let her guard down a little more. I don't think we got as much of the woman behind the image as we could have, but she shares a lot of her history, and that is enough. Sophie Fiennes dad an excellent job balancing the spectacle and the person, with as much as Grace was willing to reveal.

• Extraordinary View of a Magnificent Lady

  nick949652018-05-11

  Grace Jones is a force of nature. At least a Hurricane, if not a comet about to hit the earth. The musical numbers in the movie are about the best I have ever seen in a concert film, and the recording of the music is outstanding. For that alone, the movie should be considered for an Oscar for Sound (even though it is a documentary, the Producers and Director have spent a good deal of money to make the soundtrack as perfect as possible during the concert. For the entire length of the movie, I had the feeling that Grace was never hiding her feelings from the camera, and allowed us to see her from all angles, even the moments when she comes out from a shower naked. And she is timeless -- not only in terms of voice and performance, but in her attitude towards her family and neighbors from her childhood in Jamaica. Even though there were times when I could not understand the broken English, I sensed the love and compassion she feels for her family and friends from the Shantytowns where she grew up. At one point, she returns to the Church (where the Preacher is apparently her brother?), and where her mother sings an obscure Bluesy Religious number (in a very high Soprano, which is somewhat difficult to bear, especially having heard Grace sing in her deep voice), but Grace gives each of the clan equal respect and not once does she ever show a single moment of pretension. Congratulations go to the Director for taking us on a personal journey. The only drawback is that the other people are not identified. I had hoped that there would be lower third titles to at least let us know who the other people in the film are, and where in Jamaica the scenes were shot. Finally, there is Grace herself, who is a work of beauty and absolutely flawless for her age (she was performing in this movie at about age 60, and looks like she could be 35.) Her body is in perfect shape, she has gorgeous eyes and a stunningly beautiful face -- amazingly perfect in every way. A true beauty, even without makeup. During the movie, she tells her son that when she was his age, she could go dancing all night and still make it to the photo shoot the next day, and we can easily believe it.

• Cut and Paste

  rabit818-67-7645092018-04-10

  There is no doubt Grace Jones is a great subject. For anything, be it her music, her performance or as a muse. She has a lot of history and above anything else, a character. Who knows the direction of the director is going. I was patient for the first 30 minutes waiting for something to happen. Somewhere along the line, she probably threw her original idea up in the air and just wing it. The result is a bad cut and paste project any high school student aspiring to do a documentary about his high school glee club can surpass this mess by seven fold.

• Expounding Awesomeness

  Charbax2017-10-25

  Grace Jones exults ultimate good taste in extremely deeply funky transcending music thanks to her amazing voice, her collaborations over the past 40 years, she demonstrates joyful art in how she masters her style and how she totally commands the show on stage. I watched the UK Premiere of Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami at the London BFI Southbank, each of the amazingly beautifully filmed song performances end by impulsive audience applause as if you're at the concert alternating with scenes that show Grace Jones's nature and her constant grasp at mastering happiness and trying to contaminate that happiness to the people around her in her life, producing good belly laughs throughout the film as we get to see who she is in her life. I hope that this movie leads to more content from Grace Jones and from the people who agree with her taste, Please make more music like this, and please write, direct and distribute more movies like this one! She declined a role in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, I'd like to see someone to make for her a Grace Runner movie where she gets the leading role.

• Great Artist

  sidney_amsterdam2018-08-11

  If you love Grace a must see For all the other people it s not really a story. Just a short inside look of her life from 2005 till 2015 Do you really see her and know more ...? It s a normal woman with the same problems like ' normal people' She' s art herself with her amazing voice... there s only one Grace A Diva like no other