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Product Description
From the lawless streets of Kinshasa, Congo comes one of the most incredible stories ever committed to film. Five years in the making, Benda Bilili follows a group of street musicians as they struggle to record their first album.
Four of the group are paraplegic’s who get around Kinshasa in Mad Max/ Easy Rider style customized wheelchairs. The other three are homeless street children whose star is Roger Landau - a teenage prodigy who plays on a home-made, single string guitar fashioned from a tin can.
Prepare to lose yourself in the remarkable true story of Benda Bilili as we follow them from their first recording session to worldwide acclaim and stardom. Hailed as the new Buena Vista Social Club and brimming with humour in the vein of Anvil, Benda Bilili is an inspirational, infectious, hilarious and life-affirming story of a dream that becomes reality.
Special Features:
- 5 Deleted Scenes (11mins)
- Extras from Kinshasa (15mins)
- Extras of Staff in Europe (14mins)
- UK Theatrical trailer
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Saw this film at the Union Chapel in March! It was incredible! I'm not usually into documentaries, but this really changed my mind about them. It was really brilliant to watch a film about an inspirational band who just love music and performing AND there are some really funny moments. The band members are real characters. Their music is really catchy: lots of great beats and melodies. They actually performed after the film and everyone was dancing along with them. I've bought the DVD and Tres Tres Fort (the album) and I can't stop recommending them both to my friends- it's a really uplifting, down-to-earth film. Benda Bilili is really inspirational and I hope they keep going for years to come!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By TicaLinda
Format:DVD
I must admit when I was first told I would be seeing a documentary on a paraplegic musical group from Congo that had against all the odds managed to record an album, I was skeptical. Not because their story would not be inspiring, I had no doubt it would be, but more how the film makers would interpret this story. Far too many times I have seen documentaries that do not seem to really reflect what the people that are in the film want to say. It tends to be animals in a cage mentality, they are analysed, and the film makers opinions are imposed on the situation. This is one of the only documentary films that I have found that actually seems to listen to the people they are filming, and care what happens post filming. This is extremelly evident and genuinely heart warming to see. You have the amazing story that Benda Bilili have to say, and it is told so well by the film makers. I thoroughly recommend this film, it is well worth the time, and I have now managed to work myself up enough to watch it again!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Mandy_Brown
Format:DVD
I've just seen the film at our local cinema and can't wait for the DVD. I went along with a friend and didn't really know much about the film or the band- but I'm now a MASSIVE Benda Bilili fan- they are incredible and hilarious too! The film was optiministic and upbeat, really great- I seriously had a smile on my face the whole time. Totally recommend this film to anyone!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Just when I was in desperate need of a really uplifting film, along came "Benda Bilili" to do just that. What an inspiring story! If you are ever feeling a bit sorry for yourself, take a look at this documentary about paraplegic street musicians in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There can be few meaner streets in the world than those of that city, where making enough to eat really is a matter of life and death. Poverty is everywhere you look, but far from feeling sorry for themselves in a country where the care system is almost non existent, these guys just get on with their lives, in their home made wheelchairs made from old bicycle and motor bike spare parts. Not only that but they also make some beautiful African music rooted in rumba with elements of rhythm 'n' blues and reggae. This is all a far cry from the Tarantinoesque Kinshasa in the recent Congolese film "Viva Riva". Much more like the real deal!
The two French filmmakers Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye followed the street musicians for five years from their humble vigil on a roundabout in Kinshasa to the bright lights of a European tour. We even get to see the strange sight of them wrapped up to withstand the less balmy weather of Oslo. The group are a blend of guitars and fine singers together with some kids off the streets. The remarkable young prodigy Roger Landu plays his one stringed lute made from an old can with astonishing skill. We watch as they cut their first successful album "Tres Tres Fort", mostly recorded in Kinshasa zoo. They have a lovely "one for all, and all for one" attitude that glues this unlikely group together. Staff Benda Bilili are a unique product of the Congo, and they deserve all the success they seem to be getting.... Read more ›
The two French filmmakers Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye followed the street musicians for five years from their humble vigil on a roundabout in Kinshasa to the bright lights of a European tour. We even get to see the strange sight of them wrapped up to withstand the less balmy weather of Oslo. The group are a blend of guitars and fine singers together with some kids off the streets. The remarkable young prodigy Roger Landu plays his one stringed lute made from an old can with astonishing skill. We watch as they cut their first successful album "Tres Tres Fort", mostly recorded in Kinshasa zoo. They have a lovely "one for all, and all for one" attitude that glues this unlikely group together. Staff Benda Bilili are a unique product of the Congo, and they deserve all the success they seem to be getting.... Read more ›
By Mr. B. Blair
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a facinating dvd following the exploits of an african band with a difference, theyre disabled mostly from polio. Great music and interesting insight to how they came together and got "discovered".
By Yve
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fantastic. A really touching and heart-warming story. If you dont think you like African music, you will love it by the end of this film.
By emma_emily
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Not your normal documentary... this tells the story of a bunch of homeless, disabled musicians from the Democratic Republic of Congo. What transpires in the film makes you cry with how difficult some peoples lives are but also makes your heart smile at the joys of life. Absolutely brilliant.
By Marc Kirwan
Format:DVD
Bought tears to a cold heart, wonderful film, truly astonishing! If ever there was a documentary to watch it's this, wipes the floor of Big River Man, King of Kong, Man on Wire and Until the Light Takes US. (not comparing this movie to a black metal doc)
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lost in the Congo
Every reviewer tells us this is a great film and I'm sure it is. However the DVD I bought through Amazon was wrongly programmed and there were no English subtitles despite this... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Marina Whilton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gives a whole new perspective on Kinshasa
I have lived in Kinshasa and seen the handicapped wheelchair users at the port and in the markets. This film gave me a new perspective on the town and people. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. Peter Roberts
2.0 out of 5 stars
Benda Bilili
The story is amazing and humbling but the film itself was poorly constructed. Also when purchasing the dvd I was not aware that it was in French with subtitles.
Published 16 months ago by Judith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
This film was brilliant. Hat's off to the makers of this film for putting all of it together; it cannot have been easy. The relationships and, of course, the story were compelling. Read more
Published 21 months ago by mongshot
5.0 out of 5 stars
Staff Benda Bililli - documentary
Watched the band Staff Benda Bilili perform live in Camden Roundhouse earlier in year - they had an incredible energy and great vibe. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Commuter K
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