The Soul of a Man (2003) on Netflix
NR20031h 43mDocumentaryMusic
Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson and J. B. Lenoir are the three musicians the documentary follows. Sacred and secular currents run against each other through their songs and their lives.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.3/101,011 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Plot summary
Three bluesmen anchor the film: Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson and J. B. Lenoir. Their songs carry a tension that runs through the blues itself, between what is sacred and what is worldly, and the film traces that pull in the music each of them left behind. Recreations of events from the 1920s and 1930s, shot in the hand-cranked style of silent pictures, sit beside rare archival material and scenes filmed in the present day. Musicians of later generations offer their own versions of the three men's songs, and the narration is delivered in the voice of Blind Willie Johnson. The film is the second installment of a documentary series about the blues.
