Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021) review

Rare footage was unearthed after sitting in TV director Hal Tulchin's basement for over fifty years of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival - which brought together such talents as B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, Sly and the Family Stone, The Chambers Brothers, Nina Simone (and so on) - that seemed to represent a "turning point" in African-American (and Latino) culture where they banded together to "rise up" in the face of adversity ... and then, well, you know what happened (quick answer: not much).  It's only fitting that Philly's own Questlove, best known for being the drummer of The Roots, is the one to repackage the umpteen hours of footage into a two hour overview: the music is fresh and exciting, and watching Stevie Wonder totally get into a song will always be magical.  Unfortunately, it tries to cover entirely too much ground in such a limited time and the socio-political angle is really oversimplified, pointing the finger at everyone else for the area's serious problems (drug use, poverty, wasting money on going to the Moon).  I will say that I've been fortunate to see Mavis Staples in person, and let me tell you: I don't care how old she is, she takes you there.