One Love (2003)

A rasta musician meets a gospel singer when they both enter a music contest in Kingston Jamaic. They fall for each other but are kept apart by the Girl's father the Pastor, who wants her to marry into the church.

Directors:

Rick Elgood, Don Letts

Writer:

Trevor D. Rhone

Stars:

Cherine Anderson, Winston 'Bello' Bell, Vas Blackwood

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Cherine Anderson	...	Serena
Winston 'Bello' Bell	...	Selector G
Vas Blackwood	...	Scarface
Carl Bradshaw	...	Obeah Man
Idris Elba	...	Aaron
Shelaagh Ferrell	...	Camille
Ky-Mani Marley	...	Kassa
Alex Rosén	...	Music Manager
Winston Stona	...	Pastor Johnson

Storyline

Kassa a free-wheelin rasta man, falls for a straight laced gospel singer Serena, when they both meet as they enter a music contest. Serena's father the pastor forbids her to see him and wants her to marry one of his church members. Meanwhile the record boss organizing the contest, tries to get Kassa's band to sign to his label on his terms not theirs. By using heavy tactics, he pushes the band to fight back.

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Plot Keywords:

love

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Jamaica Norway UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 2005 (UK)

Also Known As:

One Love!

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Company Credits

Production Co:

One Love Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Warm-hearted Jamaican love-story

A quirky love story with an exotic Jamaican setting.

Serena (Cherine Anderson) is the gospel-singing daughter of a devout Penticostal preacher (Winston Stona). It's a loving but repressive community, and she's being pushed into marrying a worthy member of the church.

Then she meets laid-back rasta Reggae musician Kassa (Ky-Mani Marley, son of Bob Marley) at a music contest. Initially drawn together by their mutual love of music, their forbidden relationship begins to blossom as they battle with a corrupt record-producer for a fair recording contract.

It's a good old-fashioned morality tale of love overcoming cultural and religious differences, with unobtrusive direction and strong performances from all concerned. As you might expect, there's a stonking Reggae sound-track featuring Bob Marley, Shaggy & Junior Kelly. Both the principals have strong voices and do their own singing.

The plot has similarities with Jamaican cult classic "The Harder They Come" (Trevor Rhone has writing credits for both films). But the treatment here is very different: where "Harder" was dark and edgy, this is warm-hearted and unashamedly sentimental, with an undercurrent of broad comedy. It's straightforward story-telling aimed at a mainstream family audience.

Caught the UK Premiere at the Birmingham Screen Festival and had a chat with one of the producers. The project was driven by her passionate belief that there is a need for more positive portrayals of the Afro-Caribbean community on film. So while we see a fair bit of Jamaican corruption, we also see charming if somewhat idealised views of life in a mountain village and an idyllic Rastafarian community.

It's an impressive achievement for a first-time production team. They pulled in a powerful Executive Producer, raised USD 2 million, and assembled a strong team around the project. They have secured a general theatre release in the UK, Germany and other European markets, with good prospects of a US release as well. So expect it soon in a cinema near you.

geoff -at- advantae -dot- com