The man, almost a myth, who in 1914 was born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham, Alabama, soon became Sun Ra – a solar figure at the heart of the twentieth-century free jazz movement; an Egyptologist who, in that cradle of civilisation, discovered Afrofuturism; a philosopher who founded his own cosmogony and channelled it through a keyboard. Through testimonies from members of his Sun Ra Arkestra and archival recordings, Christine Turner unveils the galaxy of this trailblazer. A film, a meteor, a journey through time.
It is no surprise that the movie starts with ‘Over the Rainbow.’ Not only because the standard changes into something else at the hands of the man born Herman Poole Blount, but also because this a song that speaks of a place where the dreams we dare to dream come true, something that meant a great deal to Sun Ra, who was born into this world (coming through Saturn, obviously) in 1914, in Birmingham, Alabama.
A jazz genius, the creator of an Afro-futuristic mythology that brought together Ancient Egypt, science fiction and the Civil Rights movement, he was not just an agent of musical revolution. ‘The possible has been tried and failed, now it is time to try the impossible.’ From this sentence, Christine Turner drew the title of the documentary.
With the participation of members of his Arkestra, historians and researchers, with illuminating archive footage, from music on stage to Sun Ra walking through the pyramids of Giza, ‘Sun Ra: Do the Impossible’ is a revealing dive into the universe of one of the most fascinating and surprising musicians of the 20th century. (Mário Lopes)
