We Are One (On Est Ensemble) – Netflix Documentary Review

Driving Cultural Change

We Are One is an empowering documentary film honing in on different activists across the world pushing for social change. The movie is certainly a timely and topical picture, backed up with a distinctly positive spin and a reinforced message that together we can fight back against injustice.

The movie itself is essentially split into a series of different segments stitched together through the participation of various men and women for the music video of “Solidarite”. Clocking in at around 80 minutes or so, most of the film’s run-time jumps across the globe as we meet these different activists fighting on the front lines to make a difference in the world.

Frenchman Kante spends his time handing out food to migrants and pushing for economic equality in Paris. In Brazil, Panmela Castro leads the fight against sexism and gender inequality by expressive graffiti and art.

In New York, Afaq faces an uphill fight given she’s a black Muslim but fights back against the racial hatred through her beautiful artwork and poetry.

Broulaye is an albino suffering from racism in Africa while rounding out the group is Tamara, a woman fighting against anti-Asian prejudices. All of these men and women come together, driving home that message once more that the only way to manufacture change is by standing united together.

This is a theme that runs right the way through the movie and We Are One does a pretty good job capturing this in its rawest form.

It’s worth noting though that there’s a lot of jumping between characters and countries while the constant countdown to the music video itself adds another layered timeline. At times the movie does feel a little busy and personally it would have been nice to have more time with each of these men and women and hear from those positively affected by these activists.

It’s a minor gripe though in what’s otherwise an enjoyable and topical movie about being the change and standing together against inequality. As We Are One informs us, this united stance is one of the greatest challenges of our time.

While the movie is unlikely to stand out next to so many other excellent documentaries this year, there’s a nice message at the core of this one that makes it well worth a watch.

Click Here To Go Back To Our Film Reviews