Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami
Sometimes you just wish filmmakers would get out of their own way.
Grace Jones is a fascinating figure, a Jamaican-born reggae/funk/pop singersongwriter who was equally at home in the Studio 54 scene and Andy Warhol’s Factory and who parlayed her androgynous, exotic looks into an international modeling and acting career.
I first saw her as a fierce warrior alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wilt Chamberlain in “Conan the Destroyer” and a Bond girl/ villain who manhandled Roger Moore in a sex scene in “A View to a Kill,” and I was curious enough to find out more about her.
But you won’t see any of that in Sophie Fiennes’ cinema-verite portrait “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami.” A film with no context, it is a sporadically interesting, overlong look at Jones as she nears 70, still performing before her legions of fans.
Those legions of fans are about the only ones who will love the film. If you knew nothing about Jones going into it, you will know very little walking out, except that she is undeniably unique and talented. Sometimes it is a concert film, with Fiennes lingering on some songs almost in full — the best parts of the movie; her costumes are still outrageous, and she still proudly shows off her miles-long legs. Classic songs include “Slave to the Rhythm” and “Pull Up to the Bumper” are featured.
A significant part of the movie is in Jamaica, where Jones goes to visit her extended family. There are some scenes in a recording studio, others in hotel rooms and the back of vehicles during her travels, a photo shoot. There is even one delightful scene near the end in which Jones, a new grandma, visits her son and daughter-in-law and cradles her grandchild in her hands.
There are no clips from concerts or movies during her time at the top in the 1970s and ’80s, no background of any kind. I’m all for cinema verite, but no one Jones meets in the film is identified; at one point, looking for advice, she calls “Sly” on the phone. If you are a Grace Jones fan, you know that’s Sly Dunbar, half of reggae duo Sly & Robbie, a longtime collaborator. But if you don’t know that, you might be wondering — Sly Stone? Sly Stallone?
Similarly, even though there is a significant amount of time spent in Jamaica, you don’t really get to know her family. You don’t know most of their names, their stories, their lives, what they meant in Jones’ early life. Fiennes (sister of actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes) would like you to focus on their interactions and the impressions they make rather than provide any insight.
Still, Jones’ forceful personality comes through.
“I always say to everyone, if the lights should go out, if the electricity and the sound fails, I can perform and still hold an audience,” Jones says in the film. “In the dark, without any trimmings. Oh, yeah!”
Unfortunately, Jones is alone here, forced to carry the film without much help from the director.
One thing I will say: After this movie, I definitely want to attend a Grace Jones concert. I suppose that’s something.