Young Soul Rebels (1991)

Director:

Isaac Julien

Writers:

Paul Hallam (writer)
Isaac Julien (writer)

Release Date:

6 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Tears | Costume | Drunkenness | Radio | Queen's Jubilee

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Valentine Nonyela	...	Chris
Mo Sesay	...	Caz
Dorian Healy	...	Ken
Frances Barber	...	Ann
Sophie Okonedo	...	Tracy
Jason Durr	...	Billibud
Gary McDonald	...	Davis
Debra Gillett	...	Jill
Eamonn Walker	...	Carlton (as Eamon Walker)
James Bowers	...	Sparky
Billy Braham	...	Kelly
Wayne Norman	...	Bigsy
Danielle Scillitoe	...	Trish
Ray Shell	...	Jeff Kane
Nigel Harrison	...	Cid Man

Also Known As:

La radio pirata (Spain)
Young Soul Rebels: la radio pirata (Spain)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | France | Germany | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

British Film Institute (BFI)

Soundtrack:

Say You Will

Very Poorly Conceived Movie

Remember the 1966 movie BLOWUP ? That's the movie that claims to be a murder thriller but is nothing of the sort . YOUNG SOUL REBELS is basically the same , it starts with a murder in a park then spends most of its running time going out of its way not to be a murder thriller except for the last five minutes which reveals who the murderer is . I'm surprised anyone is still able to remember or care about the murder subplot by the end of the movie since it concentrates more on the soul club scene of the late 1970s . Worse it features several scenes of men kissing and in one scene there's something a lot worse than kissing going on

Before anyone goes running to the admin screaming that a raving homophobe has submitted a review let me point out that BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN has received massive critical acclaim ( Though it's unlikely to make more than 50 million dollars at the US box office ) so much for homophobia . What my main gripe the opening and closing scene revolves around a murder and very little in between has anything to do with the alleged main story . There is no main story as we see a rambling ill focused film concerning itself with the club scene of 1977 . Ironically enough there's no feel of time or place here and could easily be set in any part of Britain at any point during the last 30 years

This is just another cheaply made British movie that was produced by people who have no desire to make movies for a mainstream audience . If they had decided to make a movie revolving around a murder in a park that would have been fine , ditto if they had decided to make a movie revolving around the London soul scene but seeing as they've tried to combine the two YOUNG SOUL REBELS is a failure while the scenes of homosexuality is totally alienating for the average cinema goer . At least BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN deserves credit for knowing what it is