Remembering Marley

While a younger generation of fans might view him as the patron saint of dorm-room tapestries, Bob Marley’s true legacy is one of the great success stories of the 20th century. Kevin MacDonald’s documentary, Marley (Magnolia Pictures, April 20), examines the life of the late wailers singer-guitarist in a deservedly epic fashion, from his rise from poverty and work as a political artist to his global fame and tragic death. Few musicians in history have left such a mythical imprint on their homeland as Marley, and MacDonald’s film is beautifully humanizing as it explores the countless ways in which his story is inextricably bound to the musical and political history of Jamaica.