The concept of a jubilant documentary about apartheid might seem counterintuitive, but Lee Hirsch's remarkable musical Amandla! is just that. The dazzlingly cinematic film records the role music played in the decades-long struggle against apartheid: providing a crucial catalyst for resistance, soothing souls torn by injustice, and maintaining the dignity of black South Africans locked in an oppressive and inhumane system. Music even serves as a weapon of sorts. In one of the film's most provocative segments, white riot guards show palpable fear when recalling attempts to control singing, dancing protesters whose movements and song took on a menacing quality. Hirsch's film provides a rough chronology of apartheid, with the requisite film clips and talking heads, but it otherwise speaks the populist language of music videos and commercials, with rapid cutting, vibrant colors, striking compositions, and wall-to-wall music. Amandla! is at once specific to South Africa and strangely universal; the musicians are singing about apartheid, but they could just as easily be commenting on any society in which massive inequities permeate the fabric of everyday life. The freedom songs of black South Africans have a particularly strong spiritual kinship with American blues and gospel, addressing the horrors of discrimination while envisioning a future without segregation. In Amandla!, history doesn't just come alive–it sings, dances, and issues a passionate plea for justice and equality. The film joyously celebrates music as both a means to an end and an end unto itself.