Robert Mugge seemingly doesn't believe in cutting, unless absolutely necessary. This is not a criticism, although it may sound like it. Starting out, his lingering camera, feels a tadbit awkward. You wait for the cutaway to something else. It does happen but it takes a little bit. Musical performances are similar. When someone in Mr. Mugge's films starts a performance of a song, you can guarantee that you are going to hear the whole song before his camera flees the scene. Mr. Mugge takes you there and you see the story, in this case The Kingdom of Zydeco, unfold as it did before his eyes.
The Kingdom of Zydeco , which is due out March 25, was made in 1994. It takes a look at the black Creole music scene in SW Louisiana at the time. One of the biggest innovators, sort of the Elvis Presley of zydeco music, Clifton Chernier, helped create and popularize the genre. As the press release from MVD Visual says, "...Clifton Chernier did more than anyone to develop zydeco's musical form and promote it around the world." When Chernier died, the next in line for the crown was Rockin' Dopsie. When he died shortly thereafter, a struggle for the crown begins and a concert is arranged to help decide and that is where we are dropped in.
There isn't a narrator to fill in backstory so the viewer is left to piece together everything from the very heavily accented statements and recollections of the people involved. Meaning, you have to pay attention. The lack of a narrator at first is a tad bewildering. However, as a viewer, you begin to settle in and the scene sets itself.
The battle to become the new King of Zydeco is between a founding father, Boozoo Chavis, cantankerous, a tad arrogant, and the calm, smooth Beau Jocque. We hear from both sides, both through their music and conversation, as well as the community around them.
The Kingdom of Zydeco is an important film, masterfully handled by its director Robert Mugge. It captured an important story of three of the biggest players who would all die within ten years of its film (John Delafose 1994, Beau Jocque 1999, Boozoo Chavis 2001). I had never even heard zydeco music. Robert Mugge's documentary opened my eyes to its artform and shone a light on a part of the United States that not very many people have seen that often.
