One Love (2003)

Better Late Then Never

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I honestly thought this movie was breathtaking and just wonderful. I felt like I was in a different world because the soundtrack was just so brilliant! I couldn't believe Bob Marley's son Ky-Mani Marley actually was playing the lead role in a romantic Jamican story, this! It just made the movie better and I only discovered this after watching the movie last night! I really thought he was only just a regular guy acting in this movie, I had a strange feeling that it was more than that haha!Cherine Anderson was such an excellent singer. I was surprised that her and Marley didn't get to the charts, they are so talented even as a duet! I would love to have heard the songs on the radio, it would explode with such love from the fans! I was so happy to have seen Idris Elba in the movie, his Jamaican accent wasn't that great but still, he is a great actor and I'm glad he got involved with this too! Funny enough, I always think of him as his notable role as Nelson Mandela so it was hard for me to think of him as the character on this haha! As user grumpy-3 in one of the reviews said, this is definitely a feel good movie, it would lighten up your mood so go watch it now!!! :D

This predictable tale of love overcoming prejudice and good overcoming evil was disappointing. The acting was weak at best and, in some cases, downright bad. Kymani Marley appeared as one of the better actors, seeming less stilted, more comfortable in his role and in front of the camera. Cherine, as Serena, despite her unbelievably beautiful voice, was surprisingly disappointing, as one would expect some improvement since her earlier exposure as a teenager in Dance Hall Queen. Seasoned actors Idris Elba and Vas Blackwood appeared more natural than the rest of the cast as did Christopher Daley, albeit in a dud role.Overall, the language in the film came across as stilted. It seems that in an effort to 'water down' the Jamaican dialect, people ended up sounding unnatural. Yet this has been done successfully in other films. Better direction might have led to people seeming and sounding more real, but in several instances, the language did not come across as what a Jamaican would typically say in the situation.Some scenes could easily have been deleted without any loss to the overall story and their inclusion begs the question. Others scenes that were important to the storyline were just unconvincing in their execution.

I think this is an excellent film. It shows Jamaica in a different light...The cinematography is amazing and the cast compliment each other well. I was very impressed with the music in the film. I find it both impressive and unusual that the lead actors could actually "really" sing.I didn't believe that Anderson was really singing until I witnessed her first hand in Toronto at a party for the Film Festival. SHe definitely has presence and is singer, no doubt. Marley definitely has screen presence and looks good on camera. I liked him in this role. However, at times the pace of the film was a little slow...but it's definitely a feel good movie. Definitely a must see. Looking at the credits i wonder "what was life like on set?"..the team was part Jamaican, part British, and part Norwegian... When will this film come to theaters in the US...I hope soon I really enjoyed it.

A quirky love story with an exotic Jamaican setting.Serena (Cherine Anderson) is the gospel-singing daughter of a devout Penticostal preacher (Winston Stona). It's a loving but repressive community, and she's being pushed into marrying a worthy member of the church.Then she meets laid-back rasta Reggae musician Kassa (Ky-Mani Marley, son of Bob Marley) at a music contest. Initially drawn together by their mutual love of music, their forbidden relationship begins to blossom as they battle with a corrupt record-producer for a fair recording contract. It's a good old-fashioned morality tale of love overcoming cultural and religious differences, with unobtrusive direction and strong performances from all concerned. As you might expect, there's a stonking Reggae sound-track featuring Bob Marley, Shaggy & Junior Kelly. Both the principals have strong voices and do their own singing.The plot has similarities with Jamaican cult classic "The Harder They Come" (Trevor Rhone has writing credits for both films). But the treatment here is very different: where "Harder" was dark and edgy, this is warm-hearted and unashamedly sentimental, with an undercurrent of broad comedy. It's straightforward story-telling aimed at a mainstream family audience.Caught the UK Premiere at the Birmingham Screen Festival and had a chat with one of the producers. The project was driven by her passionate belief that there is a need for more positive portrayals of the Afro-Caribbean community on film. So while we see a fair bit of Jamaican corruption, we also see charming if somewhat idealised views of life in a mountain village and an idyllic Rastafarian community.It's an impressive achievement for a first-time production team. They pulled in a powerful Executive Producer, raised USD 2 million, and assembled a strong team around the project. They have secured a general theatre release in the UK, Germany and other European markets, with good prospects of a US release as well. So expect it soon in a cinema near you.geoff -at- advantae -dot- com