Young Soul Rebels (1991)

Set in London in 1977, the plot takes place against the background of the Silver Jubilee. This is a buddy movie between two friends Chris and Caz who run a pirate radio station from a tower... See full synopsis »

Director:

Isaac Julien

Writers:

Paul Hallam, Isaac Julien

Stars:

Valentine Nonyela, Mo Sesay, Dorian Healy

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Set in London in 1977, the plot takes place against the background of the Silver Jubilee. This is a buddy movie between two friends Chris and Caz who run a pirate radio station from a tower block in Dalston, East London. The film starts with a murder of their friend TJ while cruising for sex in the local park at night and, while Caz is cut up by the death of his friend, Chris seems to want to push forward towards a professional career in commercial radio. They both want to promote soul music while the prevailing popular music is punk.

Chris meets Tracy at the recording studio and persuades her to get his audition tape heard but he is not ready to sell out his identity to get a job in the mainstream. Caz meets a punk Billibud who talks about communism and the Socialist Workers Party, while wearing (admittedly nicked) Vivienne Westwood designer T-shirts. The murder and the different paths they seem to be taking causes tension between the buddies Chris and Caz.

Chris discovers that he has ...

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Plot Keywords:

british renaissance | reference to muhammad ali | witness | wink | violence | 

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Taglines:

A seductive and engaging thriller from one of Britain's most innovative and provocative filmmakers

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Details

Country:

UK France Germany Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 December 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

La radio pirata

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Film Institute (BFI),Channel Four Films,Iberoamericana Films Producción

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinema feature of Sophie Okonedo.

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Connections

Referenced in A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears (1995)

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Soundtracks

P. Funk Wants To Get Funked Up
Performed by Parliament
Licensed Courtesy of Casablanca Records Inc/Polygram Records Inc (New York)

User Reviews

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