“Bob Marley: One Love” is a biographical music film dedicated to the legendary reggae artist Bob Marley. The film follows his life and tells an inspiring story of how he rose to fame, creating the songs we all know and love to this day. The film, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and produced by Paramount Pictures, was released on February 14, 2024.
The film follows along the challenges that Marley faced throughout his life living in Jamaica, and how he used his music to spread peace and love to people worldwide. Bob Marley is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, and his wife, Rita Marley, is played by Lashana Lynch.
The one-hour-47-minute movie takes place in 1976 in a time of political conflict. It starts with Marley performing a famous concert in Jamaica to promote peace to his people in this time of disagreement. Marley does this mainly so he feels heard and understood, as many of his songs are highly inspired by the promotion of equality and peace.
After facing much violence in Jamaica, Marley decides to show his gunshot wounds to the crowd to prove a point that the world needs to take hands, and get past this time of political conflict. The band, also known as “The Wailers,” leave for London to create a brand new album named “Exodus” to promote reggae music. This was the launch of his international career, allowing everyone around the world to hear his music.
The movie takes an interesting turn when he faces conflict in his love life and career. More concerning, however, Marley is diagnosed with a rare skin cancer on his foot, as a result of a soccer injury. This is the root to what ends Marley’s life at such a young age. The movie comes to a close when Marley and his band put on a final peace concert in Jamaica to debut their famous song, “One Love.”
I enjoyed watching this movie to understand Bob Marley’s life and what truly inspired him to promote peace to many people around the world. The storyline didn’t depict on his entire life, but included flashbacks from his childhood that made him who he was. Some of them were good memories and some were not. These visuals help the audience to see what inspired him to create music.
The movie also includes the 1976 political conflict in Jamaica, allowing viewers to see how people lived during this time, especially what their life was like if they were famous or widely known. Despite Marley’s fame, he still faced violence that brought him to promote equality among all people despite their differences. Many viewers find this truly inspiring and use his music as a symbol of peace.
