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Karoo Kitaar Blues. Directed by Liza Key. DVD. 90-minute director's cut. 54-minute version. In English and Afrikaans (with subtitles). U.S. distribution by Filmakers Library. $295.00. Key Films/Bilk Music, 2004.
Karoo Kitaar Blues is a documentary film that traces the efforts of David Kramer, a South African musician, to find hidden pockets of folk music tradition in isolated corners of the Great Karoo, the vast desert region that stretches between the Western Cape and the southern reaches of the Kalahari. If this search for "old music" sounds like a familiar plot line, it is because Kramer's venture and Liza Key's subsequent film are clearly modeled on the late-1990s success of Ry Cooder and his efforts to recover the forgotten musical traditions of prerevolutionary Cuba, as captured in the Buena Vista Social Club album (1997) and depicted in Wim Wender's 1999 documentary of the same title. Such transparent similarity should not dissuade viewers, however. Kramer and Key's project is equally rich, not only with fine music and performances, but also with a charming sense of character, as the musicians individually are "discovered," interviewed, and given their day to shine. As a result, this film is...