Doc about Papa Wendo Kolosky is a little too much of a tease

An introduction to singer/songwriter Papa Wendo Kolosoy that leaves us feeling like he’s an acquaintance we’d like to meet properly. Rich with the colors and sounds of the Democratic Republic of Congo, documentarian Jacques Sarain’s film makes for a lovely afternoon for armchair tourists looking for light resonance.

African musician Papa Wendo has a voice as lithe and worn as suede. Once, soldiers and President Mobutu Sese Seko enjoyed his hits like “Marie Louise,” and schools shut down for two days when he gave a performance. Now in his 80s, during his lifespan he’s seen his homeland renamed three times from Belgian Congo to Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Life in his city of Kinshasa are still a struggle; on an intimate scale, his wife is giving him Archie Bunker-style grief about his reluctance to get a job. “I’m a musician,” he tries as an excuse, but her force of will—and likely, the presence of Jacques Sarasin’s documentary crew—eventually rouse him from under his favorite napping tree to track down his old bandmates and play a few shows.

Sarasin’s film gets physically close enough to his subject to see every pore and bead of sweat when he plays his infamous rumbas, songs that have the spryness of improvisation though they’ve been performed for decades. But the documentary isn’t as probing of his inner thoughts, which would be fascinating for a man who was once arrested for his music and prided himself in beating up rival bands when their ferry docked at the port. As the film likely serves as an introduction of Wendo to Western audiences, its lackadaisical approach to character study isn’t glaring, but the emptiness seems louder with every padded musical interlude. Rather than a portrait of a man who’s surmounted the hurdles of both fame and dictatorship, Sarasin’s made a watchable sketch of life in today’s DRC, where in a city of 7 million, Wendo can still drive through a neighborhood asking for “Maproko the saxophone player.” Like the music that embodies it, Kinshasa is colorful, but worn around the edges—it’s beating pulse and lively sound not disguising the sadness at its core. We meet a handful of fans and musicians, all of whom profess their unhappiness. One man has 32 children; another beautiful boulder of a woman has lost hers, but when the band strikes up, it’s lovely to watch shake off her heaviness and dance. Even though the set up of Sarasin’s documentary feels constructed, when the reunited band starts jamming, the grins and hip shakes are enjoyably legit.

At the end of the slim film, Wendo overlooks the once-great river port where he fixed boats before singing songs. Sighing at the sight of half-sunk boats and moldering shipping lines, he says the waste reminds him of the politicians who would rather purge their enemies and rig their reelection than work for the country he loves and represents. His life and his music revolve around a land that’s given him much, but taken away equally—and we’re left wanting to hear more.

Distributor: First Run
Cast: Papa Wendo Kolosoy
Director: Jacques Sarain
Genre: Documentary
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 82 min.
Release date: June 6