The Soul of a Man

Movie
Audience Score
64
The Soul of a Man
NR 1 hr 43 minMusic, Documentary
In The Soul of A Man director Wim Wenders looks at the dramatic tension in the blues between the sacred and the profane by exploring the music and lives of three of his favorite blues artists Skip James Blind Willie Johnson and J B Lenoir Part history part personal pilgrimage the film tells the story of these lives in music through an extended fictional film sequence recreations of 20s and 30s events shot in silentfilm handcrank style rare archival footage presentday documentary scenes and covers of their songs by contemporary musicians such as Shemekia Copeland Alvin Youngblood Hart Garland Jeffreys Chris Thomas King Cassandra Wilson Nick Cave Los Lobos Eagle Eye Cherry Vernon Reid James Blood Ulmer Lou Reed Bonnie Raitt Marc Ribot The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Lucinda Williams and TBone Burnett