irector Jim Brown tells the story well even if he refuses to address any of the singer's missteps (such as becoming infuriated when Dylan first plugged in at the Newport Folk Festival).

Fans like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan express unvarnished awe, but it's the well-told arc of Seeger's life that makes the strongest impression, as director Jim Brown takes us from the highs to the lows and back up again.

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song could have been called Pete Seeger: The First Punk. As the film traces the singer's long life, it also, inevitably, tracks the evolution of American countercultures through much of the 20th century.