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"Song of Ascent" Matisyahu Documentary - Live From Wartime Israel 10/7 and Beyond
July 8, 2024
By Bessy ADUT
After a brief summer break, I am back once again with my movie reviews. Last month I had the opportunity to attend the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, June 2024. And when I was given permission to write a few reviews for the movies I have seen, I gratefully accepted it.
My first review of the festival is about the closing night film, the ‘MATISYAHU’ documentary. The artist Matisyahu himself was present during the festival, as well as the filmmakers of this movie. The film was produced by Shlomo Weprin. It was most certainly one of the highlights of this wonderful festival. Matisyahu is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and a musician.
In an X post announcing the clip, Matisyahu the singer wrote, “Help me stand up to anti-semitism and share this video far and wide to show the world that we the Jewish people stand proud and that our light will not be put out."
You can watch the music video for Ascent by clicking here. In this video, you can see how the song syndicates recordings from the Hamas attack, the Holocaust, and Israel’s early days; showing the singer at massacre sites and with hostage families. There are many heartbreaking scenes in the film when they visit and talk to people, it is a mixture of sadness and faith in our future, staying strong in unity.
The film is an extended and much more detailed version of this meaningful message, delivered in a documentary film. We get to learn about the life and personality of the artist, however, we also learn about his political, spiritual, and philosophical views all along enjoying his wonderful universal songs and lyrics; at times collaborating with other young artists.
In terms of archival footage in the film, we see footage from the horrific day of the assault, including videos of the abductions of Noa Argamani and Shiri Bibas with her children Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 8 months old then.
The October 7 footage in the clip is interspersed with black-and-white videos from the Holocaust, World War II, and the early days of the State of Israel. Some of the scenes show Matisyahu with relatives of hostages held in Gaza, for whom the artist also performed when visiting Israel in January.
The documentary/concert film chronicled Matisyahu’s experiences in Israel before and after the October 7 massacre. We watch in the movie how his artistic career got affected, many of his live performances were canceled due to organizers being concerned about protestors. That is limiting an artist’s freedom of expression and speech. However, he continues his U.S. tour and performances in Israel against all odds and the anti-Israel sentiment.
His song “Song of Ascent” was also the world premiere and it continued with a nice Q & A lead by festival director Hilary Helstein. I also would like to extend my thanks again to Roz Wolf for keeping me informed about this festival, the movies not to miss out on, and my 1st press experience at a festival ever since the Cannes Film Festival a few years back.
In the movie, we see two meaningful trips to Israel and follow his experience at several Kibbutism, the Nova Festival site, hospitals and other locations essential to bearing witness to the October 7th massacres. We see 3 large shows in Israel before his US tour dates get canceled due to the anti-Israel protestors.
On the date of the event, there have also been protests in the neighborhood of Beverly Hills by the synagogue so as we see the film, conflicts are still present nearby.
To me, it was very touching to hear Matisyahu’s story from his own mother. She told about the changes he went through during his artistic life and the choices he made. We see his wife joining him and supporting him during his visits. Then we hear some very disturbing and touching stories from other artists and people they visit. We hear how innocent people were killed and kidnapped.
A lot of people have prejudice and anger towards Israel and Jewish people these days, however, when we hear and see things from their point of view, we understand how much pain there is within the Israeli people. They stay strong and brave but must live with fear and traumas every day.
Music brings people together, all our hearts beat together. The film’s message gives that away, music should be bringing love and peace and nothing else.
“Our Star shines brighter than a swastika, and our candle still flickers,” raps Matisyahu in the song, set to a haunting, mid-tempo reggae beat.
In Billboard, Matisyahu mentioned that visiting Israel had “renewed his faith in humanity” after feeling hopeless after October 7. He said he wrote “Ascent” as a response to the antisemitic rhetoric of Kanye West and others.
Matisyahu invited his friends from his X account to see the film saying "LA Jews and supporters of Jews, I’m here for La Jewish Film Festival and premiering Song Of Ascent, a doc about my experience in Israel and as an outspoken proud Zionist on tour in America. See you Monday night. Am Yisrael Chai!!!! https://lajfilmfest.org"
If you haven’t had a chance to attend, I recommend being on the watchout to find this film and watch it on any streaming services or movie theaters.
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