French writer-director Jérôme Laperrousaz’s documentary Made in Jamaica opens with the tragic yet all-too-familiar murder of a reggae superstar - Bogle - and his celebrity-studded funeral, attended by multiple generations of Jamaican musicians. The film then springboards into a broad and enormously ambitious, loosely-knit exploration of the reggae subculture in all of its facets. Laperrousaz intercuts original interviews and live concert footage (often filmed on the shores and streets of Kingston, where reggae was born) with such giants as Third World, Gregory Isaacs (who pays tribute to Bogle), Bunny Wailer, Toots, Beres Hammond and Capleton. The discussions frequently trace and highlight the performers' various influences (from the awareness of centuries-old Jamaican enslavement to on-the-spot enjoyment of the sounds and rhythms); the performances exude these sources in every note. Throughout, Lapperousaz and the featured performers repeatedly define reggae by cutting straight to its emotional core, and pay unbridled tribute to the culture and nation that produced it. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi LESS