Did you know that Wyclef Jean has just been appointed a roving ambassador for Haiti to try and lure back investors and tourists to the country after years of violence and civil unrest? It was in the papers, you know. You should probably read more. In any case, the musician has now provided the score to 'Ghosts Of Cite Soleil,' a documentary following brothers and renowned gang leaders 2Pac and Billy through one of the most turbulent periods in Haitian history.

Used as political pawns between the existing government and advancing rebels, they find themselves locked in an unwinnable battle that can only end in tragedy. Aside from violence, the brothers’ most fluent method of expression is music - railing against a world that offers them no hope. This is real gangster rap, addressing real problems and involving real danger. Its commercialised American equivalent looks like a particularly jolly Gilbert and Sullivan operetta in comparison. The film is so slickly edited and goes along at such a pace that you continually have to remind yourself that it is not a work of fiction - a dark and sobering thought. This is powerful, important filmmaking which deserves to be seen; though I doubt it will do much for the Haitian tourist industry...

REVIEW BY ED COLEMAN