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Nobodys quite sure why she didnt want the movie seen.
Great news, for it is a transcendent film.
Its also a surprisingly simple one, perhaps keeping with the unfussy circumstances.
Its not Woodstock or the Altamont Speedway or Wembley or Pompeii or Stonehenge.
There arent any backstage shenanigans or caravans of concertgoers, and very little rock-star or diva mystique.
Franklin is resplendent in her kaftans, but gives off a humble, approachable aura.
She could have easily gone into a studio, Cleveland tells the crowd.
She wanted to do it here.
We want you tonight to be a part of the session.
We want you to let the folk know youre here, he says, with a chuckle.
And they comply, naturally.
Words of encouragement fly out from the crowd.
Some folks dance in the aisles.
The atmosphere isnt wild or chaotic, however, but casual, supportive.
It feels like a family affair, as if everyone knows each other.
Franklin, is there for the second nights session, beaming quietly from the front row.
We may occasionally glimpse some technicians conferring in the background.
At one point, Aretha restarts a song after the first lines.
We barely see her rhythm section, which was so instrumental to her music.
But this hubbub is all just part of the music.
Here, the theater and joy of performance arent so much constructed and presented as brought forth and shared.
Meanwhile, the Southern California Community Choir lets itself be carried away by the music as Aretha sings.
A couple raise their hands.
Another points and bellows.
One nods his head vigorously from side to side, almost as if refusing to believe what hes hearing.
Reverend James Cleveland himself sits in the corner, head in his hands, speechless and undone.
Maybe thats where the confidence and the power and the beauty ultimately come from.
Its enough to make you get religion.
