Review of Benda Bilili! (2010) by Kyungwan C — 17 Nov 2013

Best music documentary since 'Searching For Sugarman'. It's a story of homeless congolese Ricky and his friends who overcome their roots and surroundings to become world music phenomenon. Not only they live in politically conflicted nation, they are also disabled and wheeled chaired.

But that didn't stop Ricky and his bandmates to keep making amazing music, and french reporters who discovered them spent five years to finally release their album worldwide. The band's name 'Banda Bilili' means 'look beyond appearances' in the tribe's language, and what an appropriate name for a band who defies all the odds despite what people thought of them and their future.

Enjoy the movie and most of it all, their music is twice as nice!