Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love’?

Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love (2009)

tomatometer

84

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 25
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 4

It never gets close enough to its subject, and it's curiously light on music, but this documentary is nonetheless a long-overdue tribute to a brilliant musician.

80

Average Rating: 7/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 2

It never gets close enough to its subject, and it's curiously light on music, but this documentary is nonetheless a long-overdue tribute to a brilliant musician.

audience

61

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 2,349

My Rating

Movie Info

As one of two major documentaries on hotly debated Senegalese world musician Youssou N'Dour to emerge within a year of one another (see also Youssou N'Dour: Return to Gorà (C)e), this particular chronicle was produced and shot over a period of several years. Helmed by director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, it witnesses the evolution and production of N'Dour's June 2004 album Egypt, on the Nonesuch label -- the recording that details N'Dour fully expressing his newfound Muslim faith. A veritable

Apr 6, 2010

$32.6k

Shadow Distribution

All Critics (25) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (4) | DVD (1)

By far the most powerful element is N'Dour's lone voice, a thing of high, pure beauty that feels at once ancient and new. When he sings, an otherwise earnestly conventional film becomes a vehicle of incantatory power.

October 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This documentary by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi could have used more music for my taste, and fewer talking heads. But it's absorbing all the same. N'Dour is the sort of humanitarian bridge that we need in a world so sharply divided.

August 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Be sure to stay through the closing credits as the scenes of Senegalese life act as a captivating coda to a film pulsing with music and memory.

August 21, 2009 Comment
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Youssou N'Dour is a beautiful film to watch as it unfolds the life of N'Dour and, by extension, the lives of millions of West Africans who are anonymous to many in the West.

July 31, 2009 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

N'Dour is the film's unstoppable force, handsome and radiating joy. He's the kind of performer who is larger than life but always seems like one of the family.

July 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Although his movie often resembles the kind of promotional video one might find as an extra on a concert DVD, N'Dour in full throttle is a sight, and sound, to behold.

July 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | Comment
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Inspirational concert film.

September 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

When the music starts playing, it's easy to forgive the film's flaws.

July 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | Comment
Los Angeles Daily News

An inspiring and edifying cinematic exploration of the power of music and the soul of a big-hearted African Sufi singer who has used his exceptional talent and creativity to make a better world.

July 4, 2009 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | Comment
Spirituality and Practice

Love looks and sounds great, but in depicting N'Dour as a lofty symbol for music's power to bridge worlds and inspire, it sometimes loses sight of the man.

June 25, 2009 Full Review Source: AV Club | Comment
AV Club

While the rambling, repetitive look at his life off stage is unevenly edited, his music is gloriously heard and seamlessly presented to an appreciative global audience.

June 19, 2009 Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | Comment
Film-Forward.com

Documentary about a great world-music performer is colorful but also suffers from a certain blandness and repetitiveness. A pure concert movie with biographical interruptions would have been preferable.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

A lively, soulful documentary that lacks sufficient insight into the life of Youssou N'Dour.

June 15, 2009 Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | Comment
NYC Movie Guru

Fans and newcomers to N'dour's music will be equally enthralled by the finely observed, patiently wrought documentary.

June 12, 2009 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Boxoffice Magazine
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love

YOUSSOU N'DOUR: I BRING WHAT I LOVE is a gorgeously photographed, music infused cinematic portrait of world famous Senegalese pop sensation Youssou N?Dour. Best known in the West for his collaborations with Bono and Peter Gabriel, N?Dour is one of the most beloved musicians in pop music and his legendary career has

April 20, 2010
sjeunette
shannon jeunette

YOUSSOU N'DOUR: I BRING WHAT I LOVE is a gorgeously photographed, music infused cinematic portrait of world famous Senegalese pop sensation Youssou N'Dour. Best known in the West for his collaborations with Bono and Peter Gabriel, N'Dour is one of the most beloved musicians in pop music and his legendary career has

March 17, 2010
kylie j.
kylie jeunette

Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love Quotes

No quotes approved yet for Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Latest News for Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love

June 11, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Pelham 1 2 3 Doesn't Quite Take
This week at the movies, we've got a railway heist (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, starring Denzel...

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,574 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,472 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,169 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,665 taken
created 15 months ago

Foreign Titles

  • Youssou N'Dour: Rückkehr nach Gorée (DE)
  • Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love (UK)
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile