PETE SEEGER: THE POWER OF SONG (2007)
D: Jim Brown ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
At 90, Pete Seeger might be the world's last optimist, the last living soul who can still sing the folk protest anthems of the '50s and '60s (and before and after) with total conviction and not a trace of cynicism, irony, condescension or disbelief. This documentary chronicles Seeger's long, eventful life - lefty activism at Harvard in the 1930s, riding freights with Woody Guthrie, stints with the Almanac Singers and the Weavers, the HUAC Committee, the blacklist, the causes, the songs, and the abiding commitment to social justice (and audience participation) that drives his work. Meanwhile, an extensive gallery of witnesses testify to his enduring influence on multiple generations of musicians. And he's still at it, showing up now and then with a guitar or banjo, his voice mostly gone, but his infectious spirit and unmatched ability to get a crowd singing together still intact. "You can't say there's no hope," he says at one point. "You've got to keep trying." And then it's time to pick up the banjo and play another song.
