Finding Fela

2014

2h 0m

Documentary

List

60%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

68%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Filmmaker Alex Gibney uses period interviews and performances plus highlights of the Broadway production of "Fela!" to tell the story of Afrobeat music pioneer Fela Kuti.

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Critics Consensus

Though it doesn't fully capture the electrifying spirit of its subject, Finding Fela! is a solid overview of the life and work of a musical revolutionary.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

The problem isn't really finding Fela, but containing him.

Rated: 2/4

Sep 12, 2014

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Gibney unearths a wealth of archive footage that reaffirms Kuti's superstar status, and watches as Jones wrestles with the contradictions that made the musician such a troublesome icon - confronting some, sidestepping others.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 7, 2014

Full Review

Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Fela died in the late 1990s but Gibney has assembled plenty of footage of him performing, and he makes a convincing case for him as both a political and a musical visionary (and a relentless womaniser).

Rated: 3/5

Sep 5, 2014

Full Review

Dan Brightmore

NME (New Musical Express)

An immense documentary reinforcing Kuti's status as one of Africa's bravest revolutionaries and musicians...

Rated: 3.5/5

Apr 29, 2021

Full Review

Cameron Ward

One Room With A View

Despite Fela's lively subject matter, Gibney ultimately fails to offer any lasting form of personal perspective on the issues that surround it - gimmicks notwithstanding.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 11, 2019

Full Review

Craig Williams

CineVue

It's not Gibney firing on all cylinders, but he still hits on some vital, enduring truths.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 3, 2019

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Audience Member

an unexceptional bio documentary about the Nigerian revolutionary Fela Kuti and the afro-beat genesis. not so crazy about the whole behind-the-scenes-making-of Broadway production entanglement with the archival footage to be honest. aside from that, personally, Fela's extreme patriarchal misogynistic treatment of women and dismissal of modern medicine were some hard pills to swallow, but if you can get over that, you might enjoy it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

not the best made music doc, nor the best from multi-award winning prolific doc master Alex Gibney, this is still a good engaging more than watchable portrait of a controversial African musical and political figure....mixed with archival footage and interviews and interwoven with the story of current Broadway choereogrpahy Bill t Jones making his Broadway show about Fela, it paints an interesting portrait of how to learn about a person as much as it is about the person...the music is great but there is not enough it does not only tell you about the man but about the eras he was in and the Africa around him, from his upbringing and career, to his love affair with weed and love affairs and poligamy to his jailing, his late career and his dying of AIDS...we see the world around him as well as him which is good...and we see his funeral and overall impact...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Saw it twice, intriguing story about a complex man who was a political activist using music to deliver prophetic music that is relevant today. Also talks about his complex life as a father, husband and chief priest.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Don't much care for Alex Gibney's "Finding Fela". It's a movie that is more about the making of the broadway performance of Fela than about revealing the many complex, dynamic and contradictory sides of a phenomenal but flawed organic intellectual and musical genius. "Finding Fela" plays out as many voyeuristic moments; i.e., the misappropriation of the life of a legend by people who know little about him making a movie for an audience who have also never known his music. Truth be told, I also did not care for the Fela lead in the broadway play. He has none of Fela's power and charisma, even if he can perform, plus his British accent kept getting in the way of believability. Wonder why one of his sons, e.g., Femi Kuti, didn't take on the role. Still there is some saving grace with the many snippets showing the awesome man himself.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great Journey through the life and the politics of this wild musician

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Pretty stunning look at the legend, even if the Broadway show jumps kind of take away from learning more about him while advertising the performance. I get why it's there and would love to see it, but a straight forward doc might have been better...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

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Alex Gibney

Director

Yeni Kuti

Actor

Femi Kuti

Actor

Seun Kuti

Actor

Bill T. Jones

Actor

Tony Allen

Actor

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Alex Gibney uses period interviews and performances plus highlights of the Broadway production of "Fela!" to tell the story of Afrobeat music pioneer Fela Kuti.

Director: Alex Gibney
Producer: Steve Hendel, Ruth Hendel
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 17, 2016
Runtime: 2h 0m

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