Jerry Butler	Isaac Hayes
The Chi-Lites	Sir Mack Rice
Ann Peebles	Sam Moore
Sam Moore	Wilson Pickett
Carla Thomas	William Bell
Rufus Thomas	Mary Wilson

Directed by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus
Music documentary. USA. 95 Minutes.

All critics have some personal bias that colors their objective analysis of a film. I admit to mine when it comes to the subject of Motown music. That said, this affectionate valentine to soul survivors by the master of music documentarians, D. A. Pennebaker (Monterey Pop, Don't Look Back, Ziggy Stardust) is a treat for anyone with a heart. Co-directed by frequent collaborator Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker bounces back in time with stills and clips from the glory days of soul and lands decidedly in the present. As a Motown girl born and bred in the golden years of endless smash soul hits, this tribute to those performers still rock and rollin' had me rapt. Not so much a trip down memory lane, this is a touching and lively homage to the way these artists are yet performing. The movie and the music moves audiences in new ways. Most of these folks fell out of the limelight and faded with the rise of the British bands and heavier rock. The depth and maturity of their music in the 21st century lives on and goes beyond their achievements in the 1960's.

Detroit's Motown wasn't the only label cranking out soul hits. At Stax records, Memphis answer to Motown, Otis Redding put the tiny company on the map with its first hit as Stax teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Sadly, Redding is not among the survivors and this film belongs to them. In a recent concert orchestrated for the film, we see Carla Thomas, former Stax star, pause before breaking into a vocally powerful execution of her 1961 hit, Gee Whiz, a moment fairly dripping with anticipation. Her father Rufus Thomas, growling his version of Walking The Dog, later recorded by the Rolling Stones, reminds us that the singer-songwriters who penned this music came from a deep tradition of soulful music before it carried the name.

Included are former Supreme Mary Wilson, now in a solo act, with only a fraction of the glamour of the group in their prime, but with every bit as much soul as she gets pumped up and sweeps on stage. Filmed during concerts in 1999 and 2000, the directors let us share the pre-performance, backstage build up and then moves us centerstage, lingering over every note in close-up, as those glistening faces are caressed by the camera. The direction and lighting treat these performers kindly. Their unlined faces glow, some puffier with age, as they step into the spotlight once again. Sam Moore, surviving drug addiction and years of hard times, shines up his showmanship and struts his stuff. When Jerry Butler (now active in Chicago politics) takes the spotlight and breaks into Your Precious Love, the emotional impact of those stadium-filling Madonna or Britney Spears spectacles pale by comparison to this authentically moving music. Another former Stax man, Isaac Hayes, is most definitely still in top form performing the theme from Shaft with a troupe of drop-dead gorgeous back up singers.

The focus is the music and the folks who keep on keepin' on. Their touching and diverse stories revealed in interviews of how they weathered the past 30 plus years provide a backdrop for this intimate front row seat. Bathing everyone in a golden glow, we get so much more than just that front row seat as the camera surrounds the stage and gives us the show from inventive angles. From Beale Street to Broadway, tight editing and lively pacing makes a gift of this portrait of the survivors of soul music. In the hands of these practiced filmmakers, this film rises well above the ordinary and renders a delightful musical record of soul music and its surviving musicians.