Despite what seems like a glut of documentary movies on the veteran rock group The Rolling Stones, filmmaker Paul Dugdale’s contribution and the latest one to the list, is still a sheer treat that will appeal to music-lovers even if they are not die-hard fans.
Ever since The Stones were part of the vanguard of the British invasion of bands that became popular in the US in 1964–65, they have enjoyed superstar status throughout the world. They were a few personnel changes in the earlier years but since bassist Bill Wyman’s departure in 1993, the line up has remained the same. Now despite the fact that all of them are in their 70’s, they show no sign of ever wanting to stop playing, and they still insist on undertaking rigorous Tours playing vast stadiums around the world.
Olé Olé Olé is a documentary of their latest tour which takes the aging rockers on a rapid jaunt through latin America re-visiting some countries like Argentina and Brazil, and playing others like Peru and Uruguay for the first time. The idea is to finish with a free concert in Havana Cuba for which negotiations are carried on throughout the film with neither the band or their vast back-up team knowing if they will overcome seemingly unsurmountable obstacles and actually make it happen.
Without exception, everywhere the Stones go they get rapturous receptions from their thousands of fans as if this was in fact a papal visit, and they actually seem genuinely moved by all this adoration.
The arenas they play in are vast, but asides from the giant video screens behind them, and the occasional blast of fireworks, what is so noticeable about the Stones show that unlike many contemporary rock stars/pop singers, they are totally void of elaborate sets, casts and gimmicks. They may have old craggy faces, and still have appalling taste in clothes, but once these veteran musicians take to the stage, it is just pure magic. The air is electrifying with the sheer musicality of songs that have never lost their powerful resonance, as they led by Mick Jagger, are performed with the same sheer joy and infectious enthusiasm as if this was still the 1960’s.
Despite the fact that President Obama usurped their planned concert debut in Havana, and the Pope decrying them for wanting to perform on Good Friday, the Stones Cuba concert finally happened, and the occasion is every bit as wonderful as they had hoped. By the time they reach the show’s climax with the Stone’s anthem ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction‘, the whole of Havana goes wild.
Part concert tour, part travelogue and part indulgent tribute to probably the world’s greatest rock band, this documentary defies you not to wish you had been there with them.
