Presenting Princess Shaw
Film
Review
by Kam Williams
Against-the-Odds
Documentary Chronicles the Inspirational Ascension of Youtube Singing
Sensation
By day,
Samantha Montgomery cared for the elderly as an orderly in a New
Orleans old folks home. After hours, however, the aspiring
singer/songwriter spent most of her free time pursuing her elusive
dream of superstardom.
As Princess
Shaw, she would perform solo in local clubs on open mic nights,
mostly in front of inattentive, unappreciative audiences. She also
posted heartfelt renditions of her original tunes on Youtube where
she failed to generate much of a following.
But lucky
for Princess, among her handful of fans was Ophir "Kutiman"
Kutiel, a pioneering composer/musician/video
artist living half a world away on a kibbutz in Israel. Without her
knowledge, he began producing her tunes in the studio, augmenting her
haunting a cappella vocals with an orchestra that included keyboards,
bass, cello, viola, drums, guitars, percussion, violins, saxophones
and a brass section.
Miraculously,
this promising diamond in the rough was suddenly blessed with a very
professional sound evocative of Amy Winehouse. And when Kutiman
subsequently released his polished version of Princess' "Give It
Up" on Youtube, it soon went viral, generating millions of hits.
Next
thing you know, the new internet sensation not only had a following,
but found herself being mentioned in everything from the New York
Times to People Magazine, all thanks to a generous stranger she'd
never even spoken to. Eventually, the two do finally meet when
Princess flies to Tel Aviv to do a show booked by Kutiman.
So
unfolds Presenting Princess Shaw, a moving documentary directed by
Ido Haar. The inspirational picture devotes as much time to details
of Princess' traumatic personal life as to her magical music.
Along
the way, we learn that she was left traumatized by the physical and
sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of her mother's boyfriend
while growing up in Chicago. Today, she continues to encounter a host
of challenges, being, black, gay and struggling financially.
Let's
just hope that Princess Shaw is able to turn the corner with the help of this uplifting biopic and Kutiman's mashups of her soulful
ballads.
Excellent (4
stars)
Unrated
Running time: 83 minutes
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
To see Princess Shaw performing Give It Up as producerd by Kutiman, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoHxoz_0ykI
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