One Love (2003)

Directors:

Rick Elgood
Don Letts

Writer:

Trevor D. Rhone (writer)

Release Date:

15 July 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Love

Cast

Cherine Anderson	...	Serena
Vas Blackwood	...	Scarface
Carl Bradshaw	...	Obeah Man
Idris Elba	...	Aaron
Ky-Mani Marley	...	Kassa
Alex Rosén	...	Music Manager
Winston Stona	...	Pastor Johnson

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Jamaica | Norway | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Company:

One Love Films

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